Hybrid
by Not So Gallant Gallade
Summary: Rocket wants them. The legendaries want them. 14 pokemon-human hybrids slowly find out they're not alone, and when cataclysm lurks on the horizon, the only ones they can trust are each other... or can they?
1. OC Form and Such

Yo, it's ffgtfgtr here with another story.

Now, don't take this as an omen that Silver Soul's about to die, because it definitely is going a few more chapters before I end it, under my own power. Trust me, it's all planned.

Anyways, I'm posting this new story for a reason.

It's going to be *gasp* an OC fic, and it's going to involve Pokemorphs. Well, hybrids.

Sorry, not people turning into pokemon like Will in Silver Soul, this is gonna involve people who have pokemon characteristics and such, you should know the drill.

OC form is below, I'm putting this up now so that once I finish Silver Soul, I will be all ready to go with this story, hopefully.

I have the plot figured out, as evidenced by the summary, but you guys are always welcome to make suggestions via PM.

Without further ado, adieu, whatever, here's the OC form, and again, I'll be accepting up to 8 OCs. Don't want too many, because this is my first OC fic and I don't wanna go off the deep end right away.

* * *

**OC FORM:**

_NAME: first and last, please._

_AGE: doesn't matter as long as it's a reasonable age. No 5 year olds, no 50 year olds. I guess it's 10-30 for the age, but I'm guessing the OCs' ranges won't be nearly that high._

_HOMETOWN: Basic info. Can be any region, though I'm not too familiar with any of the regions not named Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh._

_MORPH: Duh._

_APPEARANCE: Give me their hair, eyes, etc, as well as the pokemon characteristics they have. I have my OC below for reference._

_PERSONALITY: Give me a paragraph, I have time to read. Don't just say "Funny," what type of funny? Sarcastic? Clumsy? Dry humor? The more specific, the better._

_HISTORY: Again, give me a paragraph here. And please, lord, no Mary Sues. Or axe murderers. Although that would be an interesting plot twist... XD_

_MOVES: Your OC can have 4 moves of the pokemon they are, and of course, it can be anything they can learn._

_POKEMON: 5 move maximum, 6 pokemon maximum. Give me their moves, ability, personality (again, elaborate if possible). Because you're half pokemon, you can talk with them (or at least communicate, up to you), so their personalities make a bit more difference than you think._

_RELATIONSHIPS: Yeah, I might add some romance in here. I'll let you just put here how big they are on romance and all, and if possible, list specifics towards other OCs, even if you have to PM them to me. It helps a lot when writing, and I don't want to accidentally pair one OC up with their nemesis (if I make them nemesises [nemeses?])._

_

* * *

_

That's it for now, and I hope this story can get off the ground! I'll edit the summary often so you know how many spots are left, I already have me and my friend Altaria Fan's OC, and my maximum is ten OCs.

Until next time, send in your OCs and read Silver Soul (and Phantasm, a collaboratory fic between me and Alta) *peace sign*

-ffgtfgtr


	2. OC Announcements and A Reunion

Just a little information post here, so I can let you guys know who's in the story and partly for my own reference.

Plus, I'll add a little bit of the story featuring my own OC and my friend's, because I'm a sentimental slob.

Well, it'll also help to tide you guys over until I can start for real. Two chapters left of Silver Soul, since I just posted #37, and because it's the weekend, I should get another one up tomorrow no problem.

Without further ado, here is the list of OCs with their morphs and the users that made them. I ended up getting way more than expected, all in one night, so... yeah.

-Will Rio, Lucario, ffgtfgtr (me)  
-Lauren Silverfeather, Altaria, Altaria Fan (no, really XD. Her and Will will be in the section below)  
-Holly Ellens, Ninetales, Ein Storm  
-Conan Sollina, Kadabra, Spining Smiles  
-Melly Johnson, Totodile, Emawa  
-Chaison Coffman, Scizor, Chaison  
-Jessie Denvo, Dragonite, Lucariofan (warning: possible OCxPokemon by request)  
-Sam Maru, Buneary, SoujaGurl  
-Nicholai Finetivus, Zangoose, SoujaGurl (for future stories, I will not accept more than one OC per user)  
-Nana Notsumi, Espeon, KitsPokePeople  
-Jaden Namikaze, Monferno, slayerboy929  
-Jaden Hart, Umbreon, Nightshade07 (1. Two Jadens, eh? But they're different genders... 2. Espeon and Umbreon? Hmm, I smell a friendship already)  
-Ciel Steelwing, Skarmory, Randomness (sorry, could only accept one. And for the SkarmoryxAltaria, well, you'll have to see)  
-Saphire Olson, Houndour, CheetahLover101 -Aster Strange, Shiftry, Korona Karyuudo (need more info, please!)

So there you have it! I decided to go up to 12, but because of the fact that while I was asleep, I got about 10 of 'em, I'm stretching it past that even. But you knew that already.  
Anyways, this should be a slight challenge fitting everyone in, and, well, my ego isn't going to be happy with Will appearing so little. XD Meh, I'll deal.  
Here comes the first little installment of Hybrid! If you've read Phantasm as well, you'll see that I have a thing for the Butterfly Effect. I don't know why, but it fascinates me to no end. Really, you should think about it sometime, it's astounding in that it's so simple, yet so complex.  
Enjoy, review I guess, and hope you can stand the wait iuntil it really begins! (Maybe reading Silver Soul will help you with the wait.  
Oh, one more note: I now have a Beta Reader Profile, so if you want me to, uh, beta your story, go ahead and send it over to me. ;)

* * *

Do you ever think about the Butterfly Effect?

How a simple flap of the wing of a Beautifly later becomes a hurricane on the other side of the world? It happens every day, as simple as drivi9ng. If you hit a red light, you'll end up hitting the one on the light a quarter mile down the road, and then the one after that, and then another one a mile later, and suddenly you're 10 minutes late to work.

Well, today I was thinking about it, though on a relatively minor scale, and was yet again amazed by its impact on my life.

If I hadn't saved that poor Abra being bullied by a pack of Nuzleaf and Shiftry, he wouldn't have joined my team, and he wouldn't have befriended me and gotten raised by me, which means that he  
wouldn't have evolved into Alakazam, which in turn meant that he would not have fought Koga in the Elite Four, which would mean that my other pokemon would have fought him and gotten tired out by him, which meant that I might not have become Pokemon League Champ, which also means I'm not sitting here on the beach telling you all this.

So yes, I don't just believe in it. I live by it.

My name's Will Rio, and I'm one of the only of my kind on this planet. No, this isn't one of those "everyone is special" cliches, because I'm more than unique. I'm two different species.

My name's Will Rio, and I'm half Lucario.

No, I can't turn into a full-blown Lucario, but I don't have to; I know all their moves anyways. Force Palm, Drain Punch, Extremespeed, Aura Sphere, you name it, I know it. I also bear quite a  
resemblance to them, considering the fact that I possess their aura "sensors" on the back of my head, the spikes on their wrists, their ears, a Lucario's tail, and when I'm pissed off, my normally  
gray-green eyes turn a particularly intimidating shade of crimson. The particular shade of crimson that happens to belong to Lucarios as well. My hair's brown, contrary to what you might think, but my  
clothing more than makes up for it.

I only wear pants or shorts that are blue, and my shirts are always either yellow or blue. I even have a jacket that has the same yellow chest as Lucario, spike and everything, with blue sleeves and  
holes for my spikes. The jacket was a gift from my Lucario for Christmas, and I wear it every day the weather permits.

Yeah, I own a Lucario, of course I do. He's been with me my whole life, though I opted not to give him a name, partly at his request. He's basically my twin, actually, from another mother. Our  
personalities are really similar, so don't be surprised if we say the same thing at the same time. It happens at least a dozen times a day.

It's actually a sort of funny story how I got Lucario. My parents were driving home from the hospital with their newborn son, me, in tow, and at that point in time I was a human-Riolu cross. My parents,  
of course, were more than a little freaked out, but thankful I didn't have some degenerative disease instead. Anyways, on the drive home for the first time with me, they saw none other than a Riolu  
wandering by the side of the road. They stopped the car, opened the door to the backseat (with me in it), and as soon as he saw me, he ran right into the car and hopped into the backseat. He  
couldn't have been more than a couple days old, and it's quite possible he was my age to the day.

Of course, this doesn't mean I don't love my other pokemon. All of them have their separate stories, and all of them are my family now that I've ben traveling the Hoenn region for about two years or  
so. I can talk with them as well, thanks to my pokemon side, and I'll be the first to tell you that you get some weird looks from other, normal people when you're conversing with your pokemon. As if  
being half Lucario wasn't enough to draw their attention.

I'll also admit that I've faced bullies and discrimination for all I am. I have a great wit, though, so verbal fights usually don't end well for them. And when it gets physical, well, no bully has messed with  
me after a physical confrontation.

Normally, I'll spend my afternoons sparring with one of my pokemon, but the other day, I decided to do something a ittle different, just for the heck of it. I sent out the classic message in a bottle. And  
got a response.

This was what I wrote:

"Dear reader,

My name is Will Rio, and I live in Lilycove City, in the region named Hoenn. I'm sending this message out on a whim, in hopes of possibly getting a response, and, well, I'm definitely an intriguing person.

You see, I happen to be half pokemon, and I firmly believe I'm alone in this category. However, seeing as I have not visited any other regions, I'm not quite sure if this assumption is correct.

I am simply writing to see if there are, in fact, other... other hybrids out there, and maybe, just maybe, I could meet them, share feelings, et cetera.

Please respond if possible.

-WR"

Now, I didn't expect anyone to see it ever again, but lo and behold, I found this a couple days later:

"Dear Will,

You are in luck, for I know of another one of your kind, another hybrid out there, here in the Kanto region.

I have contacted them, and they have told me that they will fly over (on their pokemon, of course) to Lilycove to see if you are the real deal.

Frankly, they were shocked as well when they heard the news, so I'm hoping this meeting will be a success.

Be on the beach at around 3:00 on Friday.

-LS"

"LS... why does that sound familiar...? No matter."

And so I waited. And waited. And waited.

Just around 3:30, I saw a figure in the sky in the distance, heading straight towards me.

Excitedly, I stood up, as did Lucario next to me, and squinted to see what the figure looked like. It was a girl on an Altaria, as far as I could tell, but there were two sets of tails. One from the girl, I  
assumed, and one from the bird.

As she neared, I made out a blue hairdo, the familiar cloud wings of an Altaria on the girl's back, and blue and white clothing.

She landed a second later, and walked right up to me.

"You must be Will," she said, extending her hand. I accepted her handshake, and asked "And you are...?"

"Think, Will, think years ago."

I looked her over, still not seeing anything.

"Nothing? You don't remember anyone who'd always wear this type of clothing, who'd always talk so formally, who loved Altarias...?"

I kept looking at her, and suddenly, like a Brick Break attack, it hit me.

"L-lauren?"

"In the flesh," she replied, a smile and a tear appearing on her face simultaneously. I immediately ran over to her and hugged her, as it had been five solid years since I'd seen her. We had known each  
other since we were two years old, but she had been kidnapped when they were ten. He didn't even know if she survived, but he moved to a different city a week later, never to see her again. Until  
now.

"B-but, how are you... I don't remember..."

"Team Rocket did this to me. They ran tests on me, turned me into this, and started trying to raise me to work for them. A month later, thankfully, I escaped, and started life anew in Kanto after finding  
my Altaria, Stratos, though she was just a Swablu at the time." The Altaria cuddled with Lauren at the mention of her name, and Will pat Stratos on the head. "I never forgot about you, Will, you were  
my best friend."

"You always did like me for who I was on the inside..." I said, my eyes starting to well up too. "I just... I thought you were dead, and I tried to push you out of my mind, because you really were my only  
real friend. Oh, Arceus, I'm such an introvert nowadays. I only spend time with my brothers and sisters I call my pokemon."

"Oh, your twin evolved! That's great!"

I had forgotten that Lucario hadn't become a Lucario until I was 11, and he hugged her too, clearly remembering her better than I did.

"This is just impossible. My best friend, back from the dead, and now she's like me... in other news, the sky is starting to fall in Sinnoh."

She laughed. "Yep, there's the famous Will Rio wit I remember."

"So, what moves do you know?" I asked, wondering if she'd battle with her friend.

"Oh, I see how it is. Anyways, I have Dragon Pulse, Sing, Extremespeed and Attract in my arsenal. And what about you, Mr. Lucario?"

I grinned. I had evolved the day Lucario did, so she didn't know I had evolved until I sent the letter. "Extremespeed as well, Dragon Pulse as well, Aura Sphere and Drain Punch."

"Wow, powerful. I would hope for your sake, though, that I don't use Attract on you."

"Heh, yeah. I don't need a demo, thank you very much."

"Didn't think so."

We conversed for a few more minutes before finally turning around and headng towards the city.

It wasn't every day something like this happened, and I wasn't about to let this pass by.

As they walked over to Will's favorite cafe for something to eat, though, they saw an unusual sight.

A boy, looking about their age, was watching them go, and he looked awfully like a human incarnate of Skarmory, what with a gray suit and a red tie, and yellow eyes that could kill, if looks could that is.

"Hey Lauren, look at that kid. You think there's any chance he..."

"Eh, probably just a little too obsessed with his Skarmory is all. He's looking at me, though, instead of you..."

"Aww, you've got yourself a boyfriend and you've only been back in Hoenn for half an hour!"

She shoved him , though with a smile on her face, as the teen looked on.

**

* * *

SHIFT OF PERSPECTIVE:**

"I just have to meet her no matter what... too bad she's with another kid. And a pokemorph, at that!" I thought, leaning against the wall of the cafe. "Looks like I've got to see what's up with both of  
them."

At that, I entered the cafe myself, ordered a random sandwich, and sat down. I watched them as they talked, and talked, and talked.

_They must not have seen each other for a while, then, if they're talking so much..._

After a few more minutes, I finally decided to introduce myself. After throwing away my half-finished ham sandwich, I walked over to their booth.

"Hello, I couldn't help but notice that both of you are, well, different."

"Yes, that's quite obvious, isn't it?" the Lucario kid said sarcastically.

"Okay, I don't have time for petty remarks," I snapped quietly, leaning down. "But both of you are half pokemon, then?"

"Uh-huh, why?" the Lucario kid asked.

"Because I'm one too." _And because that Altaria morph is pretty._

The boy looked at me quizzically and asked "Skarmory morph?"

"Born and raised by them. Ciel Steelwing," I said, extending my hand for a handshake. The Lucario kid accepted.

"Will Rio, and this is Lauren Silverfeather, whom you have no chance with."

I shot him a cold look and glanced at her.

"I'm not much for romance, so he's right. Not that you're ugly or anything."

Will rolled his eyes and said "Here, follow me, I know a place where we can talk in private."

He led us to a back alley, and said "Gimme proof you're a, uh, Skarmorph." He smugly smiled at his little pun, and I sighed, taking off my suit. I revealed my wings, tail and crest, and he looked purely  
intrigued.

"Well then, looks like I really am not alone. Oh, by the way, the story between me and her, in short is that we were childhood friends, then she was kidnapped and I moved away, and now we just met  
again for the first time in five years. That's the mega-abridged version."

"Interesting... well, guess I'll see you around, then?"

"Unless..." Will mused, "all three of us decided to just travel around, see if we couldn't get some training and such in."

"That sounds fine, actually. Plus, we have lots to catch up on," Lauren said, and both of them turned to me.

"Well... I suppose I could tag along for a while. You guys need my smarts anyways."

"I'm every bit as smart as you, birdbrain," Will said with another grin, and I whacked him upside the head with my wing before concealing it in my suit again.

We decided to stay where Will slept for the night, since it was his hometown, and make plans tomorrow for travel.

There was indeed much to catch up on, and I was itching to test my mettle against others like me in battle. I just hoped they wouldn't pass by Greenleaf...

* * *

_I decided to extend the chapter by adding Ciel's OC and perspective, since his hometown was the city right next to Lilycove, and I thought it worked out. Plus, that's now 3 OCs I've introduced, out of, what, 14? Not bad..._

_Read and review, please, I'll be back with Silver Soul tonight or tomorrow and this story sometime in the coming days._


	3. Pallet and Greenleaf

_2 corrections:_

_1. It's obvious I haven't looked at a Hoenn map since my days of playing Emerald, because apparently Fallarbor town is on the opposite side of the region than Lilycove. *facepalm*_

_2. Yes, I did mess up with the 1st-3rd POV, writing Phantasm (3rd POV) and Silver Soul (1st POV) really messes with me. My bad._

* * *

"So, this is it, eh?" I said to myself. I was staring up at the three story-tall ship that would carry me away from Sinnoh, my home region of 15 years, and on to Kanto. I'd decided a week ago that I wanted to leave Eterna City and go see the rest of the world, and from the ship's destination of Pallet Town, I would do just that, being able to travel throughout Kanto or maybe to Johto.

Oh, shoot, let me back up. My name's Chaison Coffman. As I said before, I'm 15, and finally setting out on my own. I'm pretty normal, though. I'm smart, but nothing else sticks out about me.

Not my sleepy green eyes, not my brown hair that never seems to be groomed the way I want it to be groomed, and not the hoodie and baggy jeans I always wear.

Just that fact that I'm a Scizor too.

Take a look at my arms, my shining, red, steel arms, and you'll see. Same goes for my legs, and I also have Scizor's wings on my back, though they don't really fly all too well. Still, it's enough to make  
people think I'm some sort of mutant. Nobody's actually tried to hurt me, though I keep everything hidden anyways. Oddly enough, I own six pokemon, but none of them are a Scizor, or even a Scyther  
for that matter. I lov ethem anyways, though, and because of my pokemon roots, I can talk with them, which only strengthens our bond.

Anyways, now that you know me, let's continue with the story. I boarded the ocean liner for the one day trip as one of the last people, and immediately made my way to my suite for the night. After  
throwing my bag onto the bed, I decided to take a walk along the edge of the ship and get some fresh air. The weather was wonderful, though it was a little hot with my hoodie on, but who was  
complaining?

I managed to make my way outside without any problems, and was just turning a corner when a girl, looking to be about middle school age, barged right into me from the opposite side of the corner,  
knocking both of us back on our rears.

"Hey, watch it!" she yelled, and a raised a single eyebrow.

"You were the one running around, not me..." I retorted, brushing my pants as I stood back up. She was wearing a blue t-shirt and yellow shorts that barely reached her knees, and her long dark hair  
was hanging down in front of her light blue eyes. "Besides, I don't even know how you can see anything with your hair like that."

"Can too! And why are you wearing a jacket when it's so hot?" she asked.

I adjusted my hood and said "It's just my style."

"Oh, come on, you're probably steaming hot under there!"

"No, not really." I noticed her teeth her a bit jagged and pointy.

Just then, she pulled back my sleeve, revealing my steel arm. I quickly pulled her into a side room and shut the door after turning on the light.

"You're part pokemon too?" she exclaimed.

"Too?" I said, looking a bit shocked.

"Yeah!"

"Wait, which pokemon are you?"

"Totodile!" she said cheerfully.

"I should've figured, the way you act..."

"And who are you?" she asked, looking at my arm again.

"Scizor," I said with a resigned sigh.

"Oh, they're cool! I only train water-types, though."

"Ah, yes, I have one of my own, not to mention my starter is a Glaceon. Anyways, what's your name?"

"Melanie, but everyone calls me Melly."

"Well, I'm Chaison. Nice to meet you, I guess... wow, I always thought I was the only one in the world who was like this. Obviously I haven't traveled enough the first 15 years of my life..."

"Hey, I'm 15 too!" Melly said. I waited for her to say she was kidding. She didn't.

After making some more small talk, I left, and just chilled out in my room with my Glaceon until I fell asleep on the couch a few minutes after midnight, the TV still flashing pictures in front of me.

By the time I woke up the next morning, the ship was pulling into the harbor in Pallet, so I quickly packed my belongings and rushed down to the lobby and exit. I ambled down the ramp, backpack  
hanging by my shoulders, and didn't take five steps before I was approached by Melly again.

"Hey Chaison!" she called.

"What's up?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Well, I was just wondering if I could, you know, travel around with you..."

"Why?" I asked. She was just full of surprises, apparently.

"'Cuz we're both part pokemon, and 'cuz I'll be really lonely if I don't travel with someone."

She proceeded to do the whole puppy-dog eye routine, and I buckled after a few seconds of it.

"Yippee!" she shouted, giving me a hug. A heavyset man chuckled as he walked by, and I shot him a nasty glare, which shut him up immediately. I forced a smile as we touched down on the solid  
ground of Pallet Town, Melly right behind me.

As I looked around at the quaint little settlement, though, I saw a girl who looked to be around 11 watching us from afar. She looked... different, though. Her long black hair wasn't anything to write  
home about, but she looked like she had big black ears tucked behind her hair, and her eyes were blood red, with a hint of blue around the pupils. Suddenly, it occured to me.

She was one of us, an Umbreon morph. As soon as a flash of recognition crossed my eyes, though, she took off into the forest behind her.

"Stay here, Melly."

Surprisingly enough, she did as I ran after the Umbreon girl. Thanks to my Scizor speed, I caught her easily, and stopped her by cutting in front of her.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter?" I asked gently.

"You're here to hurt me, aren't you?"

"What, me? Not at all, and I can prove it." I unzipped my hoodie with a calm smile, revealing my arms and wings, and extended my right arm for a handshake.

"Oh my Arceus, you're..."

"Chaison Coffman, part-time Scizor."

She grasped my hand firmly, and said "Finally, someone I can talk to about this... I'm Jaden, by the way. Jaden Hart."

"Lemme guess, you didn't think there were other ones of us out there?" I asked, starting to walk back to civilization.

"No, I knew there were some. There's one that lives right in Viridian City, but he's a goofball."

"Oh, really? Is that him?"

I pointed to a red haired kid talking with Melly, and Jaden nodded.

"His name's Jaden too, but he's not too smart..."

As we stepped out of the forest, I yelled "Hey, your shoe's untied!" Both of them looked down at their perfectly tied tennis shoes, and Jaden and I shared a laugh as we finally got back to them.

"Melly, this is Jaden. Jaden, Melly."

"Nice to meet you!" Melly said gleefully.

After all the basic introductions, the four of us headed north to Viridian City, making small talk and poking fun at each other's pokemon relations.

* * *

I woke up nice and early today as the sun just barely leaked over the windowsill of the abandoned cottage I occasionally spent the night in. I sat up in my cot, rubbing my eyes, and found both Lucario and Ciel doing the same.

"Coincidence? We're all part steel-type, and we all wake up at the exact same exact time?" I asked with a slight smile, standing up and doing some quick calisthenics. Ciel rose next and stretched his  
massive wings, nearly taking my head off, and I looked over at him.

"Those things are huge..." I mused.

"Yeah, I got them just about a year ago today."

"How does a human, pokemorph or not, just grow wings?" I asked, cocking my head in curiosity.

"Here, I'll tell you the whole story. When I was born, my human parents just abandoned me. Didn't even give me a name, those scornful disgraces... anyways, the next day, a Skarmory was flying by  
when she saw me, and flew me to her flock. I was raised for the next 8 years by all of them, and if you had walked by and saw us later in my development, you'd have just seen me saying 'Skar! Skar!'  
because I wasn't taught English until right before I left home to travel around the region. Luckily, I was a quick study for the language, and obviously I speak it like any other human now. I've been  
traveling this whole time with my own two Skarmories, who have basically been my advisors on everything. And one day after training, I just felt a huge bulge in my back. When I had taken off my shirt,  
I found these guys had grown in, and, well, it was painful. I can't imagine life without them now, though."

"Wow, I had no idea. I was just born this way. Well, actually, I was born as a Riolu cross. On the drive home from the hospital, a little Riolu was just walking by the side of the road. My parents stopped  
the car, he saw me, and hopped right in the backseat next to me. Now he's my twin," I said, pointing to Lucario, who gave a little wave in return.

"And her?" he asked, gesturing to Laurie.

"When we were ten, after a normal day of school, she decided to take a different route home from school instead of walking home with me as usual. Turns out she was kidnapped by Team Rocket and  
turned into an Altaria morph against her will, though it is her favorite pokemon. She barely managed to escape a month later, and moved away from them to Kanto to start anew. Now, a week ago, I  
decide on a whim to send out a message in a bottle, and who should receive it but her, all the way over there. I tell you, when I finally recognized her, I was about to start weeping like a baby. I  
literally thought she was dead, Ciel. You may have never known your parents, but when your best friend, the one person who sees you for who you really are, dies, well, it took quite a bit of convincing  
from Lucario to keep me from jumping off the roof of my house, that's for sure."

"Sounds like someone had a crush on me..." Lauren said, suddenly awake.

"That's debatable. And besides, if it was me being kidnapped, you'd have felt the same way and you know it." She was silent. "Uh-huh. Don't try and embarrass me in front of our new friend here."

"Actually, I'd love to hear all your embarrassing stories about each other," Ciel retorted, rolling his eyes. Meanwhile, I pulled a map out from under my makeshift bed and laid it out on the floor.

"Okay, so I was thinking we could head to Mauville through Mount Pyre..."

"What's in Mauville?" Lauren asked, scooting over to us.

"Well, the Game Corner, the bike shop, lots of stuff."

"Wait, why don't we go this route?" Ciel asked, drawing a much longer route with his finger.

"And why would we do that? This route's much shorter, and we could stop forlunch in, what's this place... Greenleaf."

"Oh, uh, nothing really, I guess..."

"Don't worry, we'll protect you from the ghosts," I teased.

"Shut up," he barked, "I'm not scared of any ghosts."

"Well then, let's go!" I said, opening the front door. Ciel's face looked a bit pale as we headed out to Mauville.

* * *

Once we got to the town, I immediately noticed something strange about it.

Nobody was there.

All the houses were intact, save for one or two, and it looked like any other village, not like what you'd imagine of a ghost town.

Ciel marched right on past at a brisk pace as Lauren and I stayed back and looked around.

"Hey, Ciel, look at this!" I called, motioning towards something Lauren was pointing at, but he didn't respond. He'd been acting strange since we made our plans for the day, so I told Lauren to wait  
and ran up to him to talk.

"What's up? You've been acting weird all day."

"Nothing, why?" he answered, not looking at me.

"You know exactly why. There's all this interesting stuff to examine and you're just marching on past. You don't seem like that kind of guy..."

"It's nothing."

"Ciel..."

"None of your business," he stated coldly, trying to walk past me. I held out my arm and said "Ciel, honestly, you can tell me."

He looked at me for a minute, and finally said "Fine. Promise you won't tell Lauren?"

"Uh, yeah, you have my word," I said, shaking on it as he pulled a newspaper out of his bag. The cover story read "Village Massacred: Cause Unknown."

"Okay, so everyone here's dead. So?"

"Will, I'm the 'cause unknown.' I killed all these people.

I tried to keep a straight face, but my eyes still widened the tiniest bit. "May I ask why such an act?"

"They were going to kill me. They wanted to research me, some of them, but they put a bounty on my head. It was an act of self-defense, but it's the biggest regret I have. I should have just walked  
away. I should have just left the village and never come back, but no."

"Ciel," I said, trying to bring him back to the present, "it's in the past now. Everyone has regrets, no matter how big, and you're obviously not the type to do something like that again. Just let it go. It  
was self-defense. I'm not saying it was justified, but just let it go."

He looked at me, and actually smiled a tiny bit. "You're right. I can at least try to push it out of my mind. Can we at least go, though, since we're obviously not getting lunch here?"

"Yeah, sure. Lauren!"

"Yes?"

"We're leaving now!"

"Sure, if you do one thing for me!"

"And what's that?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Battle me," she said simply.

"All right, fine." I backed up a few steps, and said "Ready?"

She replied by using Twister, and it was on.

"I thought you didn't know Twister..."

"I lied," she said with a smirk. Typical Lauren.

I dodged the oncoming attack, and decided to go right for the KO with Dragon Pulse. I focused my thoughts on it, and unleashed the blast. She flew straight upwards, though, and avoided it completely.

"Dang, shoulda seen that coming."

Lauren then flew straight down at me, but at the last second, used Extremespeed, and I was shoved several yards back by the sudden attack. I shot an Aura Sphere straight up, though, and she flew right into it, allowing me time to recover. I chased her down, then leapt and used Extremespeed myself to get even further into the air, finally hitting her with a Drain Punch to recover a little vitality. As soon as I landed, I used Dragon Pulse again, but she used Protect (another new move) to block it and sailed back in for an attack. This time, I evaded, and was just about to finish her with Dragon Pulse when she used it.

Sing.

Ciel quickly covered his ears as she began, but I didn't, and within seconds I was right on the ground, Lauren and Ciel laughing above me.

Just before I fell asleep, though, I heard a female voice shout "Whoa, that was awesome!" I managed to look up at the girl, and caught her big orange eyes looking brightly at Lauren while her icy blue  
hair blew in the breeze.

"I wish I could battle that well..." she said, and then I was out.

* * *

_I should list the OCs I used here..._

_Chaison Coffman_

_Melly Johnson_

_Jaden Hart_

_Jaden Namikaze_

_Will Rio_

_Lauren Silverfeather_

_Ciel Steelwing_

_Saphire Love (changed from Olson by request)_

_Ha, that's over half the OCs! In two chapters (well, one technically!)_

_R&R!_


	4. Rogues and Dragons

Living in the big city, as long as you aren't in the ghetto, is great. You don't have to walk far for anything, you get that big city feel everywhere you go, and there's all kinds of different things going on around you, different sights and smells every day.

When you're like me, the way I am, though, things get really quite crazy.

Jessie Denvo's the name, and my game you ask?

Try being a Dragonite and a human at the same time.

Now you're probably thinking "Wait, the the hell are you talking about?"

For all 16 years of my life, I've been a pokemon as well as a human. Wings? Check. Tail? Check. The little antennae on Dragonites' heads? Check. Retractable claws? Check. All other human parts? Check.

It has its advantages, for sure. I can communicate with any pokemon as well as any human, I can use Dragonite's attacks, and, obviously, I can fly.

The downsides are great as well, though. I get strange looks all the time, since I live in Johto's biggest city, I get mugged every so often (though I can handle them easily), and I'll even face some  
prejudice for one reason from another, whether it's from a barista at Staryubucks or a cashier at Walrein-Mart or just some jerk on the street.

Even when I do get in trouble, though, my pokemon are there for me every time, especially the two I keep out with me all the time. I have Lucario, my starter, and we've been friends since day one,  
basically. I wouldn't be surprised if I was the best Lucario trainer in Johto, maybe even the world, with the bond I have with him. My other best friend is Draconia, my Dragonite. She's traveled with me for  
a while as well, and she's very protective of me, and very kind. Lately though, maybe because of my pokemon side, I've been feeling like maybe we could be, should be more than friends. I'm far too  
wimpy to say it straight to her, though.

On to the actual story, though.

I was back in the city, a week after defeating the 7th gym leader handily, and we were all set to go face the final gym, way over in Blackthorn City. We had packed our bags, we had just eaten lunch, and  
Lucario had gotten on Draconia's back for the ride. We departed soon enough, and had just exited the city a minute earlier when we heard a faint cry for help from the wooded area below. I looked at  
Draconia, and we descended into the forest, looking for the person in distress. Suddenly, I saw a girl a few years younger than me being taunted and bullied by several Haunters.

"Lucario, Dark Pulse!" I commanded. Within seconds, every one of the ghouls were KO'ed, and I rushed over to the girl, whose head was buried in her legs in fear, saying "Hey, it's okay now, I took care  
of them all."

When she picked her head up, though, I went "Sweet Arceus!"

It wasn't her long purple hair that got me, or her light purple eyes, or even the matching purple shirt (Guess what her favorite color is?).

It was, however, the ruby in the middle of her forehead, as well as the giant Espeon ears perched on her head. "Sweet Arceus is right!" she replied, looking me over. "You're Dragonite?"

"And you're Espeon..."

"I always knew there were others out there, but I never thought I'd MEET one!"

"Well, now you have. I'm Jessie, by the way." I offered her my hand, and she pulled herself up.

"Nana," she replied, "and thank you so so much for saving me."

"My Lucario's always been a fighter," I replied, downplaying it all. "What are you doing out here anyways?"

"Well, I've lived in Ecruteak City my whole life, but just a few days ago I had to drop out of training to be a Kimono Girl, I didn't have what it took. Now I'm out here to earn money as a trainer. I was just  
walking along here, minding my own business, when those guys ambushed me..."

"Yeah, they tend to do that to psychics such as yourself... hey, you could come and train with us."

Her face lit up like Goldenrod City at night. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, of course," I said with a grin, "even with my friends here, I get a bit lonely without a human to talk to."

"But I'm only half-human..." she answered.

"So am I. All the better for us, eh?" She and Lucario got on Draconia's back now, and we took off once more towards Blackthorn.

* * *

Just over an hour later, the mountainside metropolis entered our sights, and once we landed, everyone, myself included, looked out at the rest of Johto, awed at the incredible view the city gave. We could even see as far as Ecruteak City, the hometown of our new partner.

After healing my pokemon, I led everyone to the gym, and saw a girl just taller than Nana pounding on the doors to the dojo.

"What seems to be the problem...?" I asked politely.

"I was going to battle this lady, but she won't let me in because I have 6 badges instead of 7. Argh, I just want to Fire Spin her so badly..."

"Wait, what do you mean, Fire Spin?" Nana asked. The girl was wearing all tan and beige, and her mint green eyes were accentuated further by her golden-white hair, with orange at the tips near her shoulders.

"You two aughta know what I mean! I'm half Ninetales!"

I nodded, almost like a therapist listening to his patient, and asked "And your name would happen to be..."

"Holly, Holly Ellens."

"Well, I'm Jessie, and this is Nana, who I just met today as well. And I have 7 badges, so if you'll excuse me, I'll just-"

"Oh no, not unless you take me in there too!" Holly cut in.

"Fine, but you're not going to be able to battle her," I replied.

"Wha- why not?"

"She won't be able to battle after I knock out all her pokemon," I said with a wink, flashing my seven badges in front of the scanner to open the sliding doors.

**LATER:**

"Hyper Beam!" we both shouted, both our dragons obeying. Draconia got it off a split second earlier, though, and it showed, since Clair's Dragonair was done after the attack. Finished. History. Loser.

"No way you won! Y-you're just a kid, you can't be a true dragon trainer!"

"Excuse me? Do you have a Dragonite?" I asked. No answer. "Exactly. And I do. See these wins? These claws? This tail? These antennae? I am Dragonite, more than any of your pokemon! And I'm the trainer! So don't tell me I'm not a dragon trainer, because even if I'm not officially a dragon master, I'm more of one than you. Now where's the badge?"

Flustered, she looked at me in awe, amazed that I wasn't fazed a bit by her remark. She hastily dug through her pockets for the badge, and practically threw it at me once she found it. I caught it with one hand as we turned around to leave, and placed it right into my case.

"Where to now?" I asked as we stepped through the sliding doors.

"The Pokemon League!" Nana said enthusiastically, her lavender eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

"I wouldn't mind watching you try for the championship," Holly said.

"Does that mean you're coming with us, then?" Nana inquired, her eyes locking on with Holly's.

"Sure, I guess."

"Pokemon League it is, then! Everyone hop on Draconia and let's go!" I exclaimed, and we did just that, heading northeast and hopefully to total victory.

* * *

WILL'S POV:

Apparently, Sing distorts your vision.

How do I know this? Because the girl I saw just before I fainted did not, in fact, have blue hair, but jet black hair. Yeah.

Anyways, I woke up to a very violent shaking by the girl, who also had black dog ears and silver rings around her ankles and wrists.

"Wake up, Lucario boy!" she yelled.

"All right, all right!" I shouted back, sitting up quickly to avoid any further abuse. "Who are you, anyways?"

"I'm Saphire, your new travel buddy!" she answered gleefully.

"And when was this decided?"

"The moment we found out she was a Houndour morph," Lauren said, giving me her hand as she walked over. I got back on my feet and faced Saphire.

"Houndour, eh? Nice. Name's Will, Will Rio to be exact."

"Saphire Love."

We finally exited the village of Ciel's nightmares after a bit of small talk, at his request, and soon reached a fork in the road. One path, south, went to Mount Pyre, while the north one went up to Fortree City.

I took a step forward towards the south road, but heard a yelp right then. I turned around, and a man in all black had grabbed Ciel by his wing and put a brand-new looking pistol to his head.

"You follow, he dies. Then you," he said simply. Everyone else was too shocked to say anything, so I spoke up.

"Fine, and we'll even close our eyes to let you go."

"What!" Lauren shouted.

_To Lauren, I said through telepathy "I've got aura, remember?"_

_"Oh, I see."_

_Now to Ciel: "Don't worry, Lucario and I'll use aura and track you down in no time."_

_"Good, you better know what you're doing."_

_"Trust me."_

We all shut our eyes then, and the man left, taking the north road. I immediately used my auravision to see their trail, and slowly followed them.

It didn't help, however, that Saphire was saying "Holy Arceus" every 10 seconds and that one misstep would make Lauren pound my head into the ground until just the brain was left. Suddenly, though, they were in sight, in the forest.

"Stay back, girls, if anyone's gonna get shot it's me," I stated calmly. They slowly nodded, and I stealthily approached, Lucario right behind me.

As soon as we were within a good range, though, the man saw us. The next moments were blurs in my memory.

Ciel yelled "Will!" as the man cocked his gun. I shot an Aura Sphere as he aimed, and he fired just after the sphere hit him. Ciel collapsed with a bullet in his shoulder, and I flew into a fit of rage at this sight as the man got back up. Unbeknownst to me, Ciel was watching me from his position on the ground.

I rammed my shoulder into the man, accelerated by Extremespeed, and his back flew into a tree. I then proceeded to beat him consistently with my punches until he could barely even gasp for air, and one knee to the head did the rest as I was finally restrained by Saphire and Lucario. Lauren kneeled by Ciel, then brought out Stratos and placed him on her back with her. "I'm taking him to Fortree's hospital now, who's coming with me?"

Saphire shrugged and went over, but I simply sat down and buried my head in my hands, saying "I just need to be alone." They took off without me, leaving just me and Lucario alone.

Suddenly, though, I heard a voice of another guy.

"Well done, one more corrupt human out of the way for good."

I looked up, and saw through my teary eyes a tall teenager, sporting what looked to be a hunter's uniform, what with the combat boots and brown vest and capris.

"Aster Strange, and you are?"

"Feeling very depressed," I retorted. "What do you want?" Lucario was on his guard, and glaring at him suspiciously.

"I couldn't help but notice your, uh, special looks and all, and thought I should introduce myself, especially after seeing what happened there."

"Why would you care?"

"Take a look, Will." I rubbed the salty tears out of my eyes and looked him over. "I'm a Shiftry morph."

Sure enough, his eyes and ears were that of Shiftry's, and his hands had some strange pattern on them.

"Okay, so what're you here for?"

"Just to introduce myself, I guess. Oh, and would you mind if I joined your little party? I really don't feel like being on the run from those Fortree people, they all hate me so very much..."

"Why?"

"I'll explain on the way, we should probably head to see your friend now."

"True, very true."

I brought out my Dragonite, still pissed off, and he let his Flygon out. We both flew dead north to Fortree City, and I was praying to Arceus like my life depended on it that Ciel would survive.

Unfortunately, it was his life that depended on it, not my own.

* * *

_OCs:_

_Jessie Denvo (Lucariofan)_

_Nana Notsumi (KitsPokePeople)_

_Holly Ellens (Ein Storm)_

_Will Rio (me)_

_Lauren Silverfeather (Altaria Fan)_

_Ciel Steelwing (Randomness)_

_Saphire Love (CheetahLover101)_

_Aster Strange (Korona Karyuudo)_

_Yeah, it looks like the Hoenn group's the main, just because I love writing for them. I'll keep writing for everyone else, obviously, and next chapter's goal is to get the last few OCs in._

_R&R, thanks!_


	5. Kidnappers and Protectors

Well, THAT got blown out of proportion!

It started with a boat to a totally new place, and now I'm going around Kanto with three (count 'em, three!) other people like me!

First there was Chaison. I ran into him on the boat coming over here, and, totally by accident, found out he was a Scizor! After he let me travel with him, he found an Umbreon morph in the forest, and she  
looked really nice and sweet. And at the same time as he saw the Umbreon, Jaden, I met a Monferno, whose name was... Jaden! He acts a lot like me, too!

Anyways... we all decided to head over to Saffron City, so we took a ferry from Pallet Town to a place just outside of Celadon City. We started to walk from there, but when we passed the Game Corner, I  
saw something weird. A guy that was probably a year or two older than me was walking out of there with a HUGE bag of money! He also looked like he had a star on his head...

He must have heard me squeal in awe, because he walked right over to us, with his money bag in his right hand.

"Whoa, how'd you win so much cash?" I asked wondrously.

He looked at all of us, and finally said "Well, between the five of us... being a psychic helps."

"Psychic... oh, don't tell me you're a... Kadabra morph?" Chaison asked.

"Correct. My name is Conan Sollina, and how about you fine folks?"

"I'm Melly!" I exclaimed, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

Chaison cut in, saying "And you spell it H-Y-P-E-R. She's a Totodile, and I'm Chaison, a Scizor morph." I shoved Chaison, and he laughed along with everyone else. "And those two are both Jaden. The girl  
is an Umbreon morph, and the boy is a Monferno. And you look like you've just used those psychic abilities to your advantage..."

"Again: how much did you win?" I asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure..." he said, thinking it over, "probably around, oh, say, only 70-75 thousand Poke."

"ONLY!" boy Jaden and I exclaimed, and a guy across the street gave me a look that said "That girl is absolutely crazy."

"Yeah, I know, right? You'd think that a psychic such as myself would at least get to six figures in winnings, but alas, it was not to be today."

"I'd bet all that money there that if you went in tomorrow and won, they'd ban you for life," girl Jaden said, finally speaking up.

"And you'd be right, most likely. Anyways..."

"You wanna travel with all of us?" I asked out of the blue, not giving him a chance to say anything else.

"Sure, on one condition."

"What?" guy Jaden asked, cocking his head to the side.

"On the condition that we go get some pizza to eat. You have no clue how hungry I am right now." Jaden and I cheered, and Chaison said "I think you'll be just fine with us... as long as you can stand  
these guys for extended periods of time."

We walked just down the street to a pizzeria Conan preferred, and as soon as our food arrived, everyone dug in. Jaden and I started chowing down instantly on our cheese pizza, while Chaison and  
Conan both went straight into their half pepperoni, half pineapple pizza. Girl Jaden even had a couple slices. Hey, can't beat a Pokemon's appetite!

By the time she finished her second slice, though, there was only one slice of pizza left on the whole table, and both Conan and I reached for it at the same time. We both tugged for a second, but then  
Conan used Psychic on me, and I slouched in my chair, helpless as he ate the last slice right in front of me. I snapped out of it right as he finished up and was licking his fingers.

"I love being Psychic," he said, and everyone laughed but me.

Conan took the bill of course, and we decided to leave the city for the night, not wanting to spend too much of his money at once.

I walked slowly, pouting way behind everyone else about that last slice of pizza still.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and when I turned around, everything went black as a bag was put over my head. I didn't even get a chance to squeal for help before I was pulled away.

* * *

"Wait, repeat that for me?"

"I already told you, Will," Aster replied.

"So you were actually shot and everything?" I asked.

"Yes, yes, but I disarmed him and all before he could do anything else. That night I ran away for good, and I haven't looked back since then."

"And you were born this way?"

"Well, mostly. When I was born, I had the ears and I did look pretty dang mean, not to mention the white hair and my eyes. However, it wasn't until I ran away that I got these gauntlets. I guess I felt  
so much like a Shiftry with my scorn and contempt for humans that they just developed naturally. Soon after, I started trying to train up my abilities, and slowly, I've come to trust humans more.  
Whenever I see someone bad, though, I feel so compelled to just take them out, keep them from getting in society's way. That's why I was so proud of you for killing that man back there."

"Aster, I'm not like you. I'm too emotional to handle anything like that." "Then why did you kill him?"

His shining golden eyes bore into my own pair of optics, and I shed a single tear, the droplet soon plummeting towards earth.

"I did it to save Ciel. I don't know, I've never felt such rage before. I just saw him put a bullet in him, and I went overboard. It might be because I'm part Lucario, that I have more of a temper, but I'm  
not sure how I feel, now that I think about it..."

"What do you mean, 'now that you think about it?'" Aster asked, looking at me expectantly.

"I mean yes, I'm still devastated that I did such an act, but at the same time, I almost feel as if he got what he deserved, like a sense of justice..."

"That's the Lucario working inside of you, Will. Just let it be, let it rise. You're already an abnormality of socieyu, and to many an outcast. Why should they care?"

"You don't understand," I said, shaking my head with a faint smile. "You need to look at this through the average person's perspective, through the point of view of, say, Joseph the plumber. Joseph looks at a Lucario and thinks they're loyal, majestic, rare creatures. On the other hand, he sees Shiftries as dark, sadistic, contemptuous beasts. You see what I'm getting at?"

"Yes, but-"

"Oh yes, but I think we can both agree that our species are totally badass." I gave Lucario behind me a fist bump as Aster laughed.

"Well, I guess it's apples and oranges then. Oh, here's Fortree right up here. I wonder if anyone will remember me..."

"Just lay low, don't attract attention. If someone says something, just smile softly and ignore him."

We landed in the park, a mile away from the hospital, and began our walk. Sure enough, just a little ways down the road, a passerby man said "Aster...?" Taking my advice, Aser stayed silent, and the  
man pushed the though out of his mind. We made it to the hospital without further trouble, though, and walked in. After finding Ciel's room on the left, we strolled in, and I said "He's okay, then?"

"Yeah," Lauren responded, looking up, "but sleeping."

Just then, a lady outside said "Will Rio? Someone outside would like to see you."

Curious, I stepped out the doors to the clinic to see a girl about my age waiting for me. Without warning, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the forest, and any questions I asked fell on empty  
ears.

Finally, she threw me against a tree, got out some rope and tied me up, and said "I'll explain later. Just stay here, and don't say a word."

She turned to go back to the hospital, but something strange happened.

Just before she entered, she seemed to look different.

She had transformed into me.

I struggled against the ropes, but they were bound by a psychic force against me.

"Wait, psychic force, shapeshifting, quiet..."

* * *

A couple minutes later, Will returned to the room, and motioned for me to come out. I told Saphire I'd be right back, and followed him out the door and into the forest.

Before long, he stopped and turned around, still silent.

"What, Will? What are we doing here?"

Well, I'll say this: it wasn't Will.

Before my eyes, who I thought was Will revealed her true form.

Latias.

"Hello, Lauren."

"W-what? How did you... but then where's... and why are you..."

"All in good time," Latias replied telepathically.

"Okay, first things first: how did you find me?"

"Well, kind of hard to miss an Altaria-human mix, now isn't it? Plus, Hoenn is my domain."

"True, true. So then where's Will?"

"He's safely tied to a tree a little ways away. No need to worry about him."

* * *

I stood there for a couple minutes waiting for anything, and suddenly saw Lauren being led by me through the forest herself. Panicking, I looked for a way out, and found one.

Using my spikes, I cut the rope, and stealthily trailed the imposter and Lauren through the woods until they stopped.

Right then, I saw the imposter reveal herself to be Latias, and immediately, I was intrigued. _What does Latias want with Lauren that doesn't concern me...?_

"Will Rio, I presume."

I whirled around, and gasped almost loud enough for Lauren to hear.

Right in front of me now was the rainbow pokemon, Ho-oh, with his wings behind his back to make sure the other two didn't see.

"Get on my back, I have some explaining to do."

Officially engrossed by this, I followed his orders, and he flew me away, me having no clue what was coming.

* * *

"Where the heck are Will and Lauren?" I asked myself aloud, sitting next to a sleeping Ciel. "They're in meetings right now, though I can help to pass the time away," a voice said behind me.

"What, playing cards?" I asked, not turning around.

"Look and see."

I looked. And saw. And yelped in awe.

Entei.

"Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?" the legendary beast said, "now quickly, hop on and let's go, I have things to discuss."

Dazed, I climbed onto his back, and he leapt out the window and through the thick forest, taking me with him.

* * *

Everything just flew by me like I wasn't even there.

First Will leaves, then Lauren, and now Saphire, and I learn all three are probably talking to legendary pokemon about... something.

_What do they want with them?_

"I can tell you what."

Sure enough, I whirled around to see that none other than Mewtwo had teleported into the room behind me. Without warning, he grabbed my shirt with his three fingers and teleported us back out,  
leaving Ciel alone and sleeping in the hospital room once again.

* * *

I thought I was alone in my own little world of black.

I was sleeping peacefully after getting shot through the chest, healing well, and suddenly, I open my eyes.

Or at leats I think I do, because I'm still surrounded by black.

"Finally, you're awake."

"What? Who's there?"

I turned around, saw nothing, and turned back forward.

Lugia was floating in front of me.

"W-what do you want...?"

"I have something I need to let you in on, Ciel."

"T-tell me, then."

"Ciel, you do know that there are more pokemorphs than just the ones you know of, right?"

"Uh, yes, why?"

"Because every legendary has now looked at all of them, and several of them have chosen one of you..."

"Chosen us as what?"

"Why, we're your guardians, of course. And after seeing you, I decided that you shall be the one I look after."

"But why, then?"

"Now that, I cannot tell you, but rest assured, I'm watching you, and you may even get some powers you didn't know you had..."

"Such as?" I asked, puzzled.

"I'll leave that for you to find out as well."

"Wait, at least tell me this: how are you talking to me when I'm asleep?"

"We legendaries have many powers you humans don't know about, for our own safety. You and your friends, however, are different. You're pokemon too, and therefore can be trusted with some of our secrets... not to mention that you see Arceus as your god, rather than, well, whatever humans call their god."

"It's just God, actually."

Lugia looked at me to see if I was kidding, but I wasn't. He vanished then, and I actually woke up this time, to an empty room. I looked down at myself, and saw my tail now had two blue spikes on it, just like Lugia's.

Sighing, I leaned back in my bed and waited for everyone else to arrive.

Minutes later, they did, and we all stared at each other awkwardly.

"So... you guys were gone too?" Will asked.

"Yeah," came all the replies.

"And?"

"...let's say it on the count of three, okay? One, two, three."

"Visited by..."

The rest was indecipherable by the voices splitting up, but we all looked around to confirm our suspicions.

"Wait, so all of us were paid visits?" Aster asked.

"Correct," Will responded, "I saw Lauren meeting with her guardian just before mine came."

"And who would that be?"

"Let's go around the room, I guess. Ho-oh chose me," Will stated.

"Latias for me," said Lauren.

"Mewtwo," Aster said calmly.

"Entei!" Saphire exclaimed.

Everyone turned to me, and I simply said "Lugia."

After a little banter over who was cooler, I said "Oh yeah, and do any of you guys have some sort of mark they left on you? Because my tail now has two Lugia spikes..."

"Yeah, a green band around my neck like Ho-oh," Will said.

"Black bracelets and anklets right above my Houndour ones..."

"Small triangle on my belly, courtesy of Latias."

"Got a bit of a tail now from Mewtwo."

A minute later, the nurse said visiting hours were over, and I fell asleep a moment later. Oddly, though, I felt almost like there was no wound at all. I woke up and checked my chest, and found there to be just a scar in its place.

"You're welcome..."


	6. More Legendaries and More Pain

"Finally, we're here!" everyone exclaimed. Well, everybody but me, since I was busy looking out at Mount Silver's snow-blanketed peak.

I was on my way to the Pokemon League for the biggest fight of my life: five straight trainers, the five best in the Johto-Kanto region. I had behind me two new friends, and both were like me in that they were half pokemon.

Nana I had saved from a pack of Haunter, and she happened to be an Espeon morph. Little girl plus psychic morph equals bullying by ghost pokemon, I guess.

Also in tow was Holly, who at the ripe age of five was wandering in the forest when a Ninetales took her in, thinking she was one of her own. I had found her doing something a little less defenseless:  
pounding on the doors of the eighth gym and yelling at Clair.

Anyways, we finally touched ground just in front of the doors to the Pokemon League, skipping over Victory Road to keep my pokemon healthy, even if there was a pokemon center inside. We stepped  
through the automatic doors, and all five of us were immediately taken aback by the sheer elegance of the lobby alone.

Three giant chandeliers, shining as much as the lights they held, hung from the ceilings, enlightening all who passed under them. The red carpeting beneath us had intricate patterns all over it, and I  
almost felt ashamed to be walking all over it. The receptionist was in a bright green dress, and smiling brightly as I strode up to her.

"Name?" she asked.

"Jessie Denvo," I replied, returning the cheer.

"Oh, yes, I see you. Go ahead and make your final preparations, and good luck! Looking at you, I'm sure the bond you have with your pokemon will get you very far."

"Thanks, have a great day!" I always loved seeing people like that, they always brighten a day as long as they don't go overboard. I ambled over to the pokemon center and healed everyone up, and  
bought a couple hyper potions and max revives.

I was just about to enter when I felt my bladder act up, and rushed over to the restroom, Nana giggling behind me. "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

"Definitely don't wanna pee myself during the Elite Four..." I muttered, calmly walking over to the equally elegant bathrooms.

I sat myself in the handicapped stall, since there was more room, and started daydreaming about winning it all. I honestly thought it was all real, until I was woken from my spell by a voice.

"Jessie?"

I looked in every direction for someone in the bathroom, but saw nobody.

"Who's there?" I asked. I looked under the stall, seeing no feet.

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to reveal myself."

Suddenly, floating right in front of me, still on the toilet, was Latios. Yes, THAT Latios. My jaw was left agape.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked. I wasn't sure if he was sarcastic or serious.

"Uh..." I quickly pulled my pants up and flushed. I then reached out to make sure he wasn't a hallucination, and sure enough, my hand touched down on his back, proving I wasn't crazy. I think.

"You know, I always wondered why humans had to do all that after they eat."

"And I always wondered why pokemon don't."

"Well, actually-"

**5 MINUTES LATER:**

"Oh, I totally get it now!" I exclaimed. It was surprisingly complex...

"Yeah , yeah... now to the point."

"Of course."

"I am here because I have chosen you, Jessie."

"Chosen me for what?"

"Well, to protect you."

"From what?"

"Anything."

"Oh, well, that's specific..." I mumbled, leaning against the stall's wall.

"Excuse me? You're lucky to even be in my presence! If I'm doing this for you, I'd at least expect some semblance of respect... especially for a fellow dragon. You sure seem to show your little dragon  
girlfriend respect."

"W-what?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, I know you have a crush on her, don't try lying to me. Honestly, it's actually a little cute." I cringed as he continued. "So this is it in short: I'm going to be watching you, and if you get yourself into  
trouble, I come and help you in whatever way I see fit."

"But why? I'm just a kid..." I was asking a boatload of questions, and he knew it too.

"How many questions are you going to ask...? Not even a hundred years ago, when something like this happened, the kid would just go 'Yep' and continue on with his life. Now, what was your question  
again?" He was still floating in the same spot.

"Why have you decided to protect me, of all people?" I asked slowly.

"There you go again with the sarcasm. Ugh, I should just blast you with Luster Purge, that'd make you shut up... so, why I'm here is simple. You're a pokemorph, and Arceus says that you lot must be  
guarded by one of us. After looking at the choices, I immediately chose you, seeing as you're the only male dragon morph out there. My sister chose the female dragon morph..."

"Oh, so what other types are out there, then?" I inquired, trying to squeeze even more info out of him.

"Quite a variety, actually, though there are multiple psychics and fire types. All right, that is ALL I'm telling you, I'd say you know a bit too much anyways..."

"Well, I'm just trying to find answers, it's not every day you find out you have the blessings of a legendary."

"Protection, not blessing. Good luck, Jessie, I hope you beat the Elite Four here."

"Thanks. Oh, and-"

He was gone before I could add anything else, though. After a second of thought, I exited the bathroom, and saw just Holly waiting for me.

"Geez, did you throw up or something?" she asked.

"No, just, uh..."

Her tone suddenly became hushed. "Did you meet a legendary too?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you met one out here while I met mine in a bathroom stall? Who was it?"

* * *

You know that feeling you get when you think you're being watched?

Well, I've had that feeling for about two weeks now.

As soon as Jessie left, I decided to go for a little walk, since he was probably going to take a while with the rush he was in.

I wandered out the doors of the league, and saw a cave not too far away. However, it wasn't labeled "Victory Road," but "Do Not Enter."

Being me, I entered.

I wondered why it told people not to enter, because this obviously wasn't some booby-trap filled death hole like in the Johto Jones movies. I made my way to what I thought was the back of the cave,  
which wasn't more than a quarter mile, and stopped at the wall signifying the end.

I turned around to head back... and saw a pair of eyes staring directly at me.

"Finally, you have come,' a booming voice said from the direction of the eyes.

"W-who are y-you?" I asked, now terrified. Big, scary, talking pokemon sure was a reason not to enter a cave, I guess...

The creature stepped into the light, revealing a body that resembled molten lava with steel mixed in.

"My name is Heatran, and yours is Holly, correct?"

"How d-d-did you g-guess?" I asked, backing up against the wall. "A-and how can you t-talk?"

"I'm a legendary pokemon, Holly, we know lots of things."

"Wait, you're a legendary!" I exclaimed. I was even more scared now. What did I do to deserve such a cruel death?

"Yes yes, and I have news."

"Does it involve me dying?" I retorted, my voice finally starting to steady out.

"No, not at all. Exactly the opposite, as a matter of fact."

"What do you mean?" I stood as straight as a tree, no clue where this conversation was going.

"Why, I've chosen you as the one I shall guard!"

"I repeat: what?"

The legendary called Heatran sighed. "You know there are other pokemorphs out there, not just you and Nana and Jessie, right?"

"Uh-huh..." Well, now I knew for sure that that was true.

"Many of the legendaries, under Arceus's orders himself, have chosen a morph to look over, to make sure they don't, you know, get slaughtered by an evil crime syndicate."

I gulped at the thought.

"And seeing as you are a fire type, I figured that you would be my choice, since the other fire type out there is, well, not the brightest flame you'd see." "So your point is?" I asked. It was probably just  
me, but the walls seemed to be closing in on us.

"That wherever you go, I'm watching, and if you should get yourself in trouble, by being kidnapped or anything of the sort, then I will step in and help by whatever means necessary, whether it means  
coming in myself, giving you extra power, or maybe even possessing you. How fun."

"Possessing me?" I exclaimed.

"Well, sometimes you-"

"That's crossing the line!"

"I never said that that's always what I'd do, I said that's one of the options. I'd only do it in extreme cases, or if you ask for it of course."

"Why would I ask for you to take over my body?" I shouted, the sound resonating off the dark rock walls of the cavern.

"You never know..." he said. I looked around for a second to see if anything else was in here, but when I looked back, I found that Heatran had vanished.

I stood there taking it all in, thinking "Holy Arceus, a legendary pokemon is watching me right now..."

Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Crap, Jessie's probably out of the bathroom now! And what about Nana?" I yelled to myself, sprinting towards the faint light at the end of the cave.

* * *

I was left alone in the lobby of the Pokemon League with no warning at all, and with my Espeon ears, I felt a small draft blow through the lobby.

"Ooh, it's pretty cold in here...' I said, pulling on my jacket for extra warmth.

Just then, though, I could have sworn I saw a flash of light to my left, but saw nothing to prove that I saw anything at all.

Again I saw a flash though, this time to the other side, and again there was nothing there.

"What the..." I asked myself, not expecting an answer.

Suddenly, I felt a bit faint, and closed my eyes.

When I opened them, though, I found myself in a small clearing in a forest, noehere near the lobby I was in previously.

"Ah, yes, now I get to meet you, Nana."

I looked around for the feminine voice I had heard, but saw nothing of note.

"Who are you?"

"Your new protector," the disembodied voice replied. A flash suddenly blinded me, and I instinctively threw my arm against my eyes to shield them. When it faded, I found myself in the presence of an odd, pink and yellow creature.

"I'm Cresselia," she said, hovering just inches off the ground.

"Okay..." I replied, not sure how to react. "Wait, I've heard about you! You're a legendary pokemon!"

"Indeed I am, and I'm also the one who will be keeping you safe."

"What?" I asked.

"I have chosen you, Nana, to be the one I guard, under direct orders of the god Arceus."

"But-"

Cresselia cut me off. "Why I was told to do this, I'm not sure any of us know, but you're obviously a special breed. No pun intended."

"Okay, any chance you could be more specific?"

"Well, obviously, you're not the only one of your kind out there, and the legendaries have taken note. One day, Arceus told several of us to look at all of you and choose one, and many, myself included,  
chose theirs based on their type. For instance, your friend Jessie is probably receiving a visit from Latios as we speak."

"And Holly?"

"I'm not sure, it could be one of a couple for her," Cresselia said, probably wantung me to find out for myself.

"All right, so what exactly are you going to do with me?"

"Oh, it's quite simple. If you find yourself in trouble, then I will provide aid in whatever way I deem fit for the situation."

"Such as?"

"I'll let that be a surprise," she said with a wink. "Anyways, it looks like the other two are done, so I should best let you go before they start to think Darkrai kidnapped you or something. He has such a  
bad reputation with humans, he's honestly not as scary as you might think."

"I'll keep that in mind..." I replied, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"I wish you luck, Nana." With that, she disappered into thin air, and I once again found myself back in the lobby, standing right next to Holly and Jessie.

"And who'd you see, Nana?" Holly asked, totally disregarding the fact that I had just been teleported back in the room without warning.

"Oh, uh, Cresselia. And you?"

'Heatran," she said with a grin. "Well, this is a lot to think about right before the biggest battles of my life..." Jessie said, putting his hand to his head.

"Come on, go battle them already! Don't make the legendaries wait any longer than they have to," Holly said excitedly, though she made sure to keep her voice down.

"Yeah, that'll take my mind off things too. Let's go guys!" Jessie said, and the two of us eagerly followed the expert trainer, anxious to see how he'd pan out as we entered the corridor to the first  
member of the Elite Four.

"No turning back now!" Jessie said with a grin as the door shut behind us.

* * *

I woke up in a dark room, but a second later, the lights flipped on, revealing my worst fear. Okay, second worst.

Good news: I wasn't dead.

Bad news: I wasn't dead.

The pain I felt surged through my veins as fast as the blood, and a man with a syringe walked over to me.

"Ah good, you're awake. Time for the second dose, then..."

I screamed as he stuck the needle deep into my arm.

My eyes dilated as I drifted back off into unconsciousness, but not before seeing another girl look on with horror. She had brown hair, spun in crazy loops, and a yellow dress on, and, most noticably,  
she...

* * *

_R&R! And yes, that last part was with Melly._


	7. Even More Legendaries and Escapees

_Okay, I tried to reduce the fillerness of this chapter, hope it does the job I intended it to do! (finish off OC intros, almost finish legendary intros and develop the plot a little bit). This is a biggie too, so enjoy!  
_

_And yes, another chapter without the Hoenn gang. Amazing, right?_

_By the way, I just LOVE how I portray the legendaries here, I love adding personalities that fit them, but at the same time you wouldn't really think that they'd be too much like that..._

_R&R!_

* * *

"Melly?"

As soon as I turned around, I feared the worst, since Melly was nowhere to be seen.

"Guys, where's Melly?"

The other three in our group turned around, and they too found the same issue. We immediately turned around and started looking for her, in the forest, by the side of the road, anywhere she could  
be. Yet, we came up with nothing, even with our pokemon out.

Jaden was whimpering to himself as the realization hit him, and neither Chaison nor Conan was looking much better. "Well, if she wandered off, she'd be back by now, right?" I asked.

"Let's just give it until the end-"

"It's no use, guys," Conan cut in on Chaison's reply to my question. He sounded grim, and my eyes widened in terror.

"Where is she, Conan?" Jaden asked at the same time I did. Neither of us minded.

"Kidnapped."

All three of us gasped in unison as Conan continued.

"She must have been blindsided while she was behind us pouting. I don't know where she could be, but our best bet is to check out Saffron City."

"Why?" Chaison asked. "What's so special about Saffron in this case?"

"Well, a couple years ago, Team Rocket had their base in that city, and if they're making a comeback in this region, their base is likely to be there again, because of the sheer size of the city."

"Let's go then, no time to lose!" Jaden exclaimed, running ahead... and tripping over a big stick in the middle of the road! I couldn't help but giggle at this. I really did feel sorry for him, though, since  
Melly was his best friend of all of us, just because she was as naive and hyper as he was, which is saying something.

Conan simply strode over, casually pulled Jaden up, and continued on towards Saffron, a good 5 miles from this point. The group was eerily silent and lacking any sort of cameraderie or something to  
cheer us up. If someone (usually Jaden) tried to crack a joke, it would be met with angry glares from all of us, tough we did manage to let him get one joke out.

Unfortunately for him, the joke sucked, and he received a slap in the face and absolutely no attention the rest of the day.

As dusk settled in, a bright light made itself clear in the distance, and soon the lights and signs of Saffron City were visible, so bright it was practically still daytime there.

Chaison suddenly stopped in the middle of the road and said "Guys, we're going to have to settle down for the night, there's no way any of us will be able to search for her tomorrow if we work through  
the night. Plus, another one of us could get kidnapped in such a bustling city, especially at night."

As much as we wanted to disregard his warning and go ahead anyways, we knew he was right, and reluctantly turned off the road, just before the outskirts of town surrounded us.

Exhausted from all the walking we'd done today, Conan fell asleep right away, and the three of us were left to wander around to find whatever we could to make a comfortable bed. Splitting up, none  
of us had a clue what we were about to come across.

I had managed to find a big pile of leaves, and was just bringing most of it back to camp myself when I heard a light voice behind me.

"Yo."

"Jaden, is that-"

As soon as I turned around, though, I gasped. Well, it wasn't Jaden.

A small white and green pokemon was facing up towards me, one I had never seen before. She was decorated with flowers of assorted colors, and looked like she had always had the same soft smile  
on her face.

"...was that... you?"

"Yeah, never heard a pokemon talk before? I thought all you morphs could talk to pokemon."

"I've never seen one like you before, though," I said. Suddenly, the flowery creature leapt up, and I instinctively caught it and held her in my arms.

"Ah, this feels so good..."

"Who are you?" I asked, still holding her.

"Shaymientolopifralmenstone, but everyone calls me Shaymin. Can't blame them either, my parents must've been high on Sweet Scent when they named me."

"Shaymin? That's an interesting name... for an interesting pokemon."

"Yeah, well, it's about to get even more interesting. I'm a legendary, Jaden."

"What? What are you doing here, then? Don't you have legendary business to go do?"

"Yep, and this is it!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. What are you doing here?"

'Why, I needed to meet you in person!"

"Why me, why not someone else?"

"Because you're a morph, and I'm your protector! Geez, you seem almost as dim as that monkey boy I saw walking around earlier..."

"I always thought legendaries were more serious than this... if you're my protector, I'm officially scared."

"Oh come on, you just gotta have fun with it all. Otherwise, it gets too boring, and you don't want to do anything... oh, hey, scratch me right there on my back, I've got an itch that's been killing me all  
day. Oh, wait, poor choice of words."

"You know about Melly?"

"Well duh, otherwise I wouldn't have brought it up. Anyways, I've chosen you as the morph I'm gonna protect, so you should be happy!"

"Um, okay, sure... so you're always watching me, huh?"

"24-7! Listen, you've heard of RT Inc, right?"

"RT Inc... not really."

"Well, she's in that building in Saffron. Bye!"

She suddenly sprang out of my arms, the little ball of energy, and bounded away, leaving blooming flowers in her wake.

I took everything in for a second, then reminded myself that I knew where Melly was.

I knew where Melly was! Sort of!

I ran back to camp, thankful for Shaymientolo... Shaymin, for her good news."

* * *

I was just minding my own business, you know? Just trying to find some comfy leaves and stuff to sleep on tonight, and man, was I scared.

Melly was gone, and she could've been anywhere!

What if some guy tried to kidnap me next? I AM a Monferno, so they might want me for... whatever they wanted.

Shaking, I picked up a ton of leaves to lay on when I felt myself grabbed from behind.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap, please don't kill me!" I begged him or her as I was lifted into the air. All of a sudden, I felt like I was flying, and somebody behind me was laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Oh, the irony..." they said, still talking to themself. I tried to see who had grabbed me, but all I could really see was that it was a big pokemon with huge wings, and they were still laughing.

"You think I'm to kill you, but in fact, it's just the opposite."

The pokemon, who I found out was a girl, finally dropped me on the edge of a cliff, and she landed right in front of me.

"Who are you? What do you mean? Why am I here?"

"How many questions are you going to ask? At least let me introduce myself," she snapped.

"Okay..." I mumbled.

"Good. My name is Moltres, Jaden."

"How do you-"

She gave me a really mean look, so I shut up.

"Now, as for why I'm here, it's for one reason. I have chosen to be your guard, to watch over you."

"Why?" I asked.

Moltres rolled her eyes, but answered me. "Because you are of a special breed, being a pokemorph.

Arceus had ordered us to choose, and I figured I should choose you, since you're a fire type. I'm starting to regret that choice, though..."

"Okay, so what'll you do to me?" I asked, and Moltres covered her head with her wing.

"Ugh... if you get into enough trouble. not that you should try, I will come and aid you, in whatever way I think is right. Any more questions? No? Okay. Just head straight in the other direction and you'll be back at camp." She didn't even give me a chance to thank her before she flew off.

I ran back to everyone else after that, eager to tell them about my news.

* * *

How hard can it be to find firewood in a forest?

Apparently, pretty damn hard.

I only had two good branches after nearly 15 minutes of searching. In a forest. And it wasn't getting any lighter out.

I was just about to call it quits, as a matter of fact, when I felt something beneath my feet, a little tremble.

_Probably just me, I'm feeling pretty-_

My self-assurance was interrupted by a sudden crack emerging from the ground, right below me. Before I had a chance to react, it sucked me into the fissure, and I plummeted to the bottom like a sack of Oran Berries.

Somehow, I didn't lose consciousness when I hit the bottom, but I was scared nonetheless at where I found myself and my throbbing butt.

I was in a room full of lava, on a floating rock, and from beneath the liquid fire, a figure started to rise.

Groudon.

"Oh, pardon me, it went completely out of my mind that you hated fire," he said. "Please, hop on, I'll take you somewhere cooler. How could I forget about Scizor's main weakness...?"

Almost in a trance, I walked onto his massive red tail, then his back, and he parted the rocky wall to make a tunnel to another room. He finally set me down once he thought I was fine, and I stared up at him with nothing but awe written on my face.

"Finally, I get to meet my morph! How is life, Chaison?" he asked cheerfully, catching me offguard. This was Groudon, the big brute of Hoenn, not this formal speaking giant.

"N-not bad, not g-good. A f-friend of mine's-s just been k-kidnapped..."

"Oh come on, don't be scared now! I am your guardian, after all."

"G-" I cleared my throat. "Guardian?"

"Why yes, that is the whole reason you're here. I have chosen you, Chaison, as the hybrid I shall protect." He slapped his tail on the ground, and it boomed in response, and I shot up in the air a couple inches.

"Go on," I said.

"You see, there are about a dozen other of your kind out there in the world, and as there are no ground type morphs, I decided on you."

"Why?"

"Why? Because I liked you over all the other choices. Is that not good enough for you?" He slapped his tail again on the ground, causing another mini-earthquake.

"No no, I get it... you know, I always thought you were just a big brute, not so..."

"Soft-spoken?"

"That's the word. Formal too," I said. Oh the irony, that I get my sentence finished by him while saying that.

"Everyone has that vision of me, since I cannot speak in the language you humans use. Obviously, they're all mistaken, right?" He winked at this, which looked totally out of character as well.

"But then, what about that feud you have with Kyogre?" I asked. I mean, they were always fighting, right?

"Ah, well, it wasn't even on the map until he," his voice boomed as he said this word, "started the rumor that I wanted to cover the world in land, when in truth, I honestly believe that the sea is more than essential to our lives, human or pokemon. Of course, after a while, I couldn't take it, so I started the same rumor, but suited to him. I suppose it's been back and forth since then. Are there any other myths you want me to dispel?"

"Uh, no, not really. So how does all this work with you guarding me?"

"Whenever you find yourself in enough of a problem, I step in and give you the necessary aid." He didn't even have to think for this answer.

"What type of aid?" I inquired.

"Oh, I have many different ideas. Give you more power, a new attack, come in and fight myself, even take control of you."

"That's a very crude term, but yes, I suppose so."

"You're joking. Even if you are a legendary, there's no way you-"

Suddenly, my entire body went stiff, and I started walking around, though when I resisted, he did walk a bit slower.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he said, but with my mouth.

"Okay, I believe you, you can get out now."

"Oh, yes, and I could even take over your mind as well, make you do anything I please." Without warning, he made a video camera appear (don't ask), and everything went black.

When I woke up, he said "Welcome back" with what looked to be a grin on his face. I ran over to the camera, which was lying on the ground just a few yards away, and watched myself on the screen.

I looked no different than I did right now, but obviously, Groudon had full control of me. Under his influence, I formed a huge rock, at least eight feet high, and flung it backwards. The rock wall behind me caved after impact, and there was now a giant indent where the boulder had struck. I smirked for the camera, said "Believe me?" and made a tiny pebble. I hurled it towards the camera, and it hit exactly where the stop button was, ending the video.

"Keep it for posterity, and now you know, as you say, who's boss." His face shone at this, and he said "Good luck, Chaison, and I hope to see you in the future. As long as it doesn't involve you getting into trouble, that is."

"Thanks..." I mumbled, just before being boosted to the surface of the earth, not too far from camp.

I ran back to see both Jadens talking, and Conan tossing and turning in his sleep.

* * *

I woke up to black. Pure black.

Not as in "turn out the lights" black, not even "close your eyes and cover them with both hands" black. There was no semblance of light anywhere.

Until I turned around.

"Ah, you're finally 'awake,'" the apparition said, using the air quotes for emphasis.

"What do you mean 'awake?'" I responded.

"Well, you're physically asleep, but mentally, you're right here in your mind with me, so listen up."

"And you are...:

"Darkrai, just call me Darkrai."

A fearful yelp escaped my throat. _Why did he want me? What did I do?_

"Calm down, calm down, I normally don't do all that nightmare business," he said assuredly, as if he read my mind.

"Okay, so why are you in my mind, exactly?" I asked.

"To tell you that I'll be watching over you from now on, like a Pidgeot."

I gulped.

"No, it's not like that. Geez, all you humans have such a screwed up view of me. Ask any legendary, they'll say I'm actually a nice guy."

"So, why'd you choose me?"

"Because you're the most like me, of course." I cringed at the thought.

"You know, I'd actually go around and help you humans out, but with all those legends floating around, they just run from me on sight."

"What about Harbor Inn, then?"

"That was just a joke. Besides, Cresselia was in on it too. Anyways, I am indeed your official guardian, so I'll be keeping you out of trouble, giving you help when you need it, all that jazz."

"Okay..."

"Can I go, then? Because I really feel like pulling a practical joke on Lugia and I've got to get to his home before he does..."

Yeah, I was shocked too.

"Sure... as long as you wake me up and all."

"Oh, yes, of course. It's amazing how easily you can forget to do that..."

The split second he left, I sat up in bed, and everyone else in the group looked down at me, rubbing my eyes.

"So, what happened while I was out?"

* * *

I woke up about an hour later feeling real woozy, and I had been moved to another room, next to two other kids.

"So, when'd you get kidnapped?" the boy to my right asked. He looked older than me or the other girl by a couple years, and he looked... different. He had a red scar shooting diagonally upwards through his right eye, though the eye looked fine, and black claws extended from his hands.

"Probably a few hours ago now," I told the boy.

"We've been in here a day each, but they seem to like experimenting on you more..."

"Experimenting? What?" I exclaimed. What were these guys doing to me?

Right on cue, a man burst into the all white lab, saying "Ah, here are the subjects!"

He was holding two syringes.

Since we were unable to move thanks to them, I couldn't do anything as the needle was jammed into my bicep, then the boy's. The girl to my left silently watched in horror.

I started to feel myself fade away like last time, but instead, I felt a weird power growing inside me.

Without thinking, I shot a Hydro Pump, or something like it, at the man, and as he was thrown back against the wall, I broke free of the bindings that had held me.

I heard a voice inside my head, saying one word: "Escape." Again, without a second thought I freed the other two, and we exited the room as the man lay unconscious on the floor.

"Where are we going?" the girl asked behind me.

"I don't know, but it's not anywhere in here," I replied. After a couple turns, we saw a light shining through a double door, and I shoved the bar to push the door open.

And then we stopped.

A young man with blue hair was standing there, a Poliwrath standing right behind him. He had a small red R emblazoned on his uniform, which suddenly explained why they kidnapped me. They were Team Rocket!

"Well well, looks like I've got some troublemakers to deal with..."

* * *

_Boom! Another cliffhanger! I'm getting good at these. xD_

_Note to Ash: You have just raised the percentage of the usage of the word "totally" a percentage point among all teens with your reviews, and that's saying something._

_STOP REVIEWING IF YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT! AND I HATE CAPS LOCK UNLESS IT'S USED FOR EMPHASIS IN A STORY! _

_THIS IS EMPHASIS, THEREFORE I'M NOT BEING A HYPOCRITE! :P_

_And if you ever want to get the point across that you're typing in a teen's POV, just using "totally" and "like" a lot gets you there. Really, it's amazing how well that works.__ xD_

_Guardian should be up later today too, got a great chapter in store for you there._

_And just for the record, after this update, there will likely be slowed updates for both stores, due to the fact that I am working on TWO collab fics at the moment, and both are about ready to start._

_One will be with Altaria Fan again (the OC form is posted), while the other will be with Emawa, a friend of mine who's making her comeback to FF writing with an epic story. _

_Needless to say, you should definitely look out for them, and hope you agree that these stories will be every bit as good as you expect and more!  
_


	8. Capture and Freedom

"Okay, so all of us have met a legendary pokemon, and they've all told us the same exact thing?" I asked, and was met with four nods.

"Let's check Ciel out first, and then we'll compare in detail," Lauren said facing the Skarmory morph on the bed. She went to do just that, and Saphire shrugged and followed her.

"So Aster," Will asked me, "your legendary didn't match your type either?"

"Nope, but the others had theirs fit to a T," I replied without thought, staring at the hot nurse at the desk outside.

"You know, I wonder, if there are others of us out there, if they had their legendaries match..." Will said, drifting off into thought. "Actually, now that I think about it, I think I heard Latias mention that her brother chose a Dragonite morph. Guess that makes us the exception to the rule."

"But why, then, why us?" I faced him now, and he snapped back into reality.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I guess I can see why Mewtwo chose me, with our mutual feelings about humans, but you... I really don't know. Heck, your type hates fire!" I exclaimed, remembering Lucarios were part Steel-type. I glanced at the doorway, and Lauren was giving us a thumbs-up. A nurse rushed in at that second, took readings on Ciel one last time, and disconnected him from the machinery.

"You know, you're very lucky to be... the way you are," she told Ciel. "Because of your Skarmory, uh, background, your bones are partly steel, which really helped to lessen the damage on your shoulder there." Ciel smiled at this discovery, and stood up as she left, wishing us all well. _Well, at least someone in this city cares about us._

Soon, we found ourselves walking in the city streets, and I was still talking with Will, while the other three ahead of us were laughing and pointing at Saphire.

With every step I took, though, a wave of panic rushed through me. Any second, a man could walk by and recognize-

"Just chill, Aster. Nobody's going to recognize you," Will said, looking at me.

"A-aster?"

We walked right by a guy our age, who stopped and turned around as he passed us.

"I thought we chased you out of here years ago! Damn, didn't know you had a boyfriend," he chortled, though we simply kept moving. This guy would have none of that, though, and ran after us, shouting "Get back here, punk!"

Suddenly, another man, seeing Aster, cut us off, a nasty look on his face. As others saw my face, they too approached, and within seconds Will and I were trapped.

"Will? Aster?" Saphire asked, turning around now.

"Just get out of here before they attack you guys too, we're perfectly capable of handling this!" Will shouted, my thoughts exactly. I faintly heard their footsteps as they ran off, leaving us two to handle the ever-growing mob of "normal" people.

Will and I assessed the situation, standing back-to-back now, and suddenly a man pulled a knife out of his pocket, on Will's side.

"Aw, you don't really want to do that, do you? Because last I checked, that's murder. And according to you guys, it should also be considered animal abuse," Will said sarcastically.

"Not the time..." I muttered.

"Anyways, this'll be easy to get out of."

"How so?" I asked, facing him while keeping my body turned away from him. He had to be scheming something...

"Simple. Just follow me."

He took a small step forward, hands behind his back, and whispered "Three... two... one..."

Suddenly, he shot an Aura Sphere, knocking down everyone in its path, and he tugged on my wrist as I realized what happened. We dashed through the newly formed hole in the mob and managed to get out, but a man shouted "You fools aren't getting away!" A gun cocked, likely his own, and as I looked back, he had it aimed right at my head. Just as he fired though, I heard it clang away and fall to the asphalt.

Ciel had come back and deflected it with his wing.

He flicked a pokeball back from his belt, unleashing a Skarmory of course, and deflected yet another bullet, yelling "Get on Skarm, guys!"

Shocked, we did so, and as the steel bird took off, so did Ciel, spreading his wide wings out as he too took off. Somehow, we all escaped unscathed.

"Worst vacation spot ever," Will said as we soared over the city, leaving dozens of angry citizens in our wake.

Once we exited city limits, Skarm landed and let us off, while Ciel caught up with the rest of the gang. Why, I don't know, but it didn't matter. Or so I thought.

Will and I walked and talked, looking more into our guardians, and even sparred a bit as we made our way up the road. Will's Aura Sphere was dang hard on me, though, since Shiftries are half Dark.

Anyways, we were doing just fine until I felt a little pressure in my bladder, putting my hands to my stomach in response.

"Need to use the tree, eh? I'll wait," Will said with a faint smile. I nodded and excused myself, striding into the adjacent forest as Will stuck behind.

I was just getting ready to do my business, though, when I heard a stifled cry.

"Ast-!"

I ran back to where Will was, and found that Will was gone without a single trace of him or the person who had taken him.

I proceeded to look around, thinking they couldn't have gotten far, but somehow, he had vanished completely.

Panickedly, I sprinted up the road to everyone else, finally reaching them a few minutes later. Out of breath, I explained what had happened, and it registered in a matter of seconds to all of them.

Anxious, we all diverted our attention to a single goal: finding Will.

We sat down right there in the middle of the road, and started to discuss the possibilities.

* * *

"This is as far as you three get," the blue-haired man said, grabbing at his designer brown belt. He tossed four pokeballs forward from his fists, and out came all four of his pokemon.

A Houndoom, Ampharos and Poliwrath stared angrily at their adversaries as a Pidgeot soared above, and I gulped.

Me and the two other kids reached for our pokeballs as well, but the man chuckled evilly.

"We deactivate any unregistered pokeballs in our territory, thanks to a brand-new technology we developed. Looks like your only defense... is you! Attack, everyone! Execute 6.2!"

Houndoom lined up behind Poliwrath and both charged forward, while Ampharos stood right in front of his trainer, Pidgeot observing from the sky. Poliwrath's fist began to glow as he ran towards the girl, and she squealed as she realized that she was the target of the water-fighting mix. Houndoom, meanwhile, was charging up something on his head, and aiming towards me. It had a slight greenish glow to it, and just as I realized what it was, he fired the Solar Beam. I couldn't dodge, and tumbled right into the boy. Seeing this, Poliwrath veered towards us, and smashed the boy with his fist.

"Nikkei!" the girl screamed, but she too was knocked to the ground, as Pidgeot had swooped down and jabbed its beak into her stomach.

"You okay Sam?" he asked her, worriedly, as he pushed himself up.

"As good as you're doing... and you?"

I looked up at her as she offered me her hand, and I grasped it. "Yeah, sure. This guy is really pissing me off, though..."

Houndoom fired another Solar Beam at me, though, and again it struck, spiking me to the ground. I felt a huuuuuge pain in my head, like how ice feels like it burns, and looked up at the sky.

_"Looks like I have no choice..."_ the same voice from earlier said.

"Who are-"

I stopped as I felt my voice cut off, and my body went stiff. A second later, though, I saw my hands fly up, and they were glowing blue, with red lines on them. I could hear a faint breeze a ways away, and everyone was staring at me in awe.

I wished I could turn around, but something was preventing me from doing so. The sound got larger and larger, though, and I saw myself form some sort of orb around the two others, Sam and Nikkei.

And then it hit.

The tidal wave.

Don't ask me where it came from, but I thought it had something to do with the freaky glowing and the voice.

The blue-haired man braced himself, but was still swept away along with his pokemon as the three of us trudged into the forest, under my cover, none of us with any clue what was going on.

_"What the heck is going on?"_ I thought to myself.

_"Well, I might as well let you know," the voice said_. _"I have taken over your body to protect you from this man, and just helped you and these other pokemorphs escape."_

_"And you are..."_

_"My name is Kyogre."_

_

* * *

_When I awoke, I found myself with my hands and feet enclosed in blocks of ice against a wall, and I felt limp, a shock running through my body every now and then, shutting down much of my nervous system.

"Very good, you two," I heard. The lights flickered on, and I found myself in a dungeon-like room, caged in a prisoner's cell.

"Where am I?"

"Irrelevant. Uno, Dos, you are dismissed," the same booming voice replied.

"Yes, Di-"

"Ssh!" he hushed, but I had heard enough.

"D-dialga? And Articuno and Zapdos...?" I asked aloud, in complete awe.

"Damn that volthead... yes, I am Dialga," he said bitterly, though he didn't show himself to me.

"Why am I here? Why have you taken me? What's the deal?"

"I will just say this: you should be mine."

"What?" I questioned, trying to tug my way free. Nothing.

"No matter. You'll find out on your own... maybe," he said, adding a hearty laugh to boot.

With a flash, the lights turned back off, and I was left alone to my own thoughts.

At least until another flash came, the second my limbs were freed. I collapsed to the floor, the remaining numbness causing a tingling sensation throughout my whole body, and I blacked out.

* * *

_A bit short, I know, but it's a great set-up for the next big section with the Hoenn guys, and, well, hope you made the connection with Melly and Chaison here. (Go back and read their parts, you'll see. Heheheh.)_

_For reference, the POVs go in this order:_

_-Aster_

_-Melly_

_-Will_

_Sorry, I just had a bit of writer's block to deal with, and I've been focusing on THREE other stories: Guardian (solo), Pokemon: The Paladin Files (under FFalta, with Altaria Fan) and Reversed (under polarfluff, with Emawa). I love the twist that you'll see coming up, I just hope I get the motivation to write it. ;)_

_Also, I may have a short, 5 chapter story coming up, one about a character that nobody's delved into at all on here. Why? Well, when I post it, you'll see!  
_

_Until then, R&R, read my other stories, and I'll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite songs, Middle of Nowhere by Hot Hot Heat:_

_"Maybe I'm a little bit slow, I'm just consistently inconsistent."_

_If you know who HHH is, then you, my friend, deserve... something good. xD  
_


	9. Return and, well, Another Return

"Kyogre?" I exclaimed.

Well, actually, that's wrong. Because he had full control of me, I didn't actually say anything, but I screamed it in my mind, that's for sure.

_"Yes, the Kyogre,"_ he replied, sounding bored as he kept me running with the other two, who were unaware of the conversation inside my mind.

"But... how are... what makes..."

_"I'm a legendary, Melly. Doing something like this is basic knowledge for us."_

"But why?" I asked him next.

Kyogre sighed loudly. _"It was Arceus's order for all of you pokemorphs to be guarded by a legendary, and I chose you since you're a water hybrid. Any more questions?" _he asked irritably.

"Did you have to?" I inquired. I mean, he didn't sound like he wanted to be my guardian or whatever.

_"Actually, I didn't have to, but if I knew you were going to get yourself into this mess so soon..."_ he said, trailing off at the end.

"Okay, so... can I have my body back now?"

_"Oh, yes, sure. Just stay out of trouble..."_

"Wait, one more thing!" I called before he left my mind.

_"What now?" _he almost wailed.

"Where am I?" I asked him.

_"If you keep running straight until the forest ends, then head left, you'll see your friends in a short time," _he said, and I finally smiled as he disappeared.

The boy suddenly looked back at me and asked "Are you okay? You hadn't talked or shown any emotion until just now, while I've been talking with Sam here..."

"I'm just fine, uh, Nikkei?" He nodded, and suddenly a light shone in the distance. We slowed to a walk, and soon found ourselves on a dirt-packed road.

"So... how'd you guys get captured?" I asked, trying to break the awkward silence that suddenly came.

"I'm not sure, exactly..." Sam said, trying and failing to think of what happened to her.

"I think I can explain best," a pair of voices said, both coming from opposite directions.

Two four-legged beasts wandered out of the forest, one blue and one yellow, and looked at each other.

"Well, that was awkward," I said.

* * *

"Are you sure you didn't see any evidence? No signs of a struggle?" I asked Aster, who shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing. I mean, I heard his cry for help cut short, but there was no sign that he'd been taken at all, other than the fact that he wasn't there," he responded.

"So what are our options, then? What have we narrowed it down to?" I said, approaching him.

"Either he was warped or teleported somewhere, or he melted into the ground," Aster said, forcing the tiniest of smiles.

"Not funny. So, how could he have warped, teleported, vanished, whatever?" I followed up, staring him down as if I was a Tyranitar and he a Wurmple. Now was not the time for jokes, not when my best friend was missing.

"Well, chances are that it wasn't natural, the odds of that happening are slim to none. And as far as I know of, there aren't any man-made objects that could do such a thing. That leaves only one option, in my mind."

"A Pokemon," we said in unison, though we didn't mean to. Our eyes met, and my shoulders sagged.

"What?" he asked as I sat down on the dirt ground.

"That means that he could be anywhere. He could be someplace uninhabitable by humans, or someplace not even discovered yet!" I exclaimed, attracting the attention of Ciel and Saphire from their searching spots.

"Or he could be right behind you," came a familiar voice.

Will.

"Oh my Arceus, you're all right!" I couldn't help but shout, running into his arms. I didn't care that this was out of character, my best friend had just come back from nowhere.

"Where the heck were you?" Aster asked, much calmer than I would have.

Will looked over to him, his eyes flashing green in the harsh sunlight as he gazed at the Shiftry morph.

"I'm not quite sure," he said after a second of thought, "it was all a blur..."

"Oh come on, Will, I'm sure you remember!" I told him, shaking his shoulders.

"Let him be, Lauren. He's obviously been through enough already," Ciel said calmly, prying my hands off of him.

"No no, let me try and remember here... I was held in a prison cell of sorts, actually. My wrists and calves were held to the wall by ice, and I was paralyzed slightly. And then..."

"And then?" Ciel asked him.

"I think someone was talking to me before I blacked out again, but I can't remember at all, not even the voice," he said, sadly.

"Okay, so how'd you escape, then?" Lucario asked Will, the question we all were going to bring up next.

"I just used my Aura Sphere to make a hole through the bars for the cell, and made my way out," was Will's reply. He grinned, and said "Well, I'm back, and that's what matters! Now, where exactly were we off to?"

"I believe we were gonna go to Mauville City, as you had told me and Lauren back in Lilycove," Ciel said.

"Ah yes, of course! My mind's probably still playing tricks on me. Let's get going, then!," he replied, sauntering right to the front of the group, heading west towards the road that took us down to one of Hoenn's hubs of commerce.

Shrugging, we all followed him as we walked and talked and laughed and joked, everything back to normal now that Will was back and smiling as usual.

* * *

"Holy..." Sam said in awe as the two beasts approached the three of us.

"This meeting was long overdue, Sam," Raikou said, walking right next to Sam.

"W-what are you doing here?" Sam asked, looking down at the tigerlike legendary now beside her. "And how do you know my name?"

"I'm a legendary. It's what I do," she replied with a wink. "Now, neither of you remember what happened to you?"

"Nuh-uh," Nikkei said, shaking his head. "I just got blindsided, and was out before I could remember anything."

"Well," Suicune cut in, now next to Nikkei. "They had been following you, Nikkei, for about a week."

"WHAT? And I didn't notice?" he exclaimed, causing Suicune to hush him.

"Yes yes, now be quiet before someone comes. We get seen interacting with humans, and suddenly there's twenty people around you, snapping pictures and trying to capture you. Not fun," he said, shuddering at the mere thought of Pokepaparazzi following him.

"Okay, so how'd they get me?" Nikkei asked, calmed now.

"Easy. They waited, and waited, and waited, and then when the time came, they simply blindsided you with a precision chop to the neck, and knocked you out with a serum while you were down. And according to Raikou here, that's the same exact thing that happened to Sam," Suicune said coolly, his cape flowing up and down in the slight breeze.

"Oh yeah, thanks for letting me talk," Raikou said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh!" I said suddenly, attracting everyone's attention. "So you're like their protectors?"

"Yes, Melly is it?" Raikou asked, and I nodded with a smile. "And your guardian is Kyogre, I assume?"

"Yep!" I said cheerfully.

It took a bit of explaining to Nikkei and Sam about the roles Suicune and Raikou were given. After it all, though, they were really amazed.

"Hey guys, who's that over there?" Sam suddenly shouted, pointing to the left.

"Chaison!" I shouted, running over to him as soon as I saw his face. He stopped, then grinned as I barreled into him, knocking him right to the ground.

"Holy crap, you're all right! What happened?" he asked, trying to pick himself up.

"I got kidnapped by some mad scientists! They injected something weird into me too, but I escaped!"

"Obviously!" he said happily, as the other guys walked up.

"So, who's your guardian legendary?" I asked him, not taking into account that he might not have met him yet. Luckily, he had.

"Oh, it's Groudon. And yours?"

"Kyogre!" I replied.

Suddenly, we realized what this meant.

"Awkward..." I said quietly.

* * *

_POV reference guide:_

_Melly_

_Lauren_

_Melly_

_Thanks for reading, and thank Alta for making me update this so quickly. Short chapter, I know, but it's needed. Hey, be happy it's a quick update.  
_

_Now, I am trying to drop a subtle hint or two at something, but as for what it is, you either guessed it at the end of last chapter or are gonna have to wait until it's actually revealed. ;)_

_Hopefully, I'm doing this well enough that it'll be a nice shocker to those who I haven't spoilt it for in PMs already. _

_I probably should've said spoiled there instead of spoilt, but spoilt sounds cooler._

_Muahahahaha, so Kyogre and Groudon have to deal with each other all the time now, because their hybrids are traveling together! I'm so evil!_

_Read and review... and read Guardian! And read Reversed! And read Pokemon: The Paladin Files! And don't forget my newest collab, From Jersey to Johto! Wee! Just read 'em all! And even Silver Soul too! :P_

_Still working on Shine..._

_**Oh yeah, and I will be away from the 19th to the 23rd at golf camp, and my fam is also driving across the country to New Mexico for vacation, so that's another 2 days or so I'll be gone. Hang tight during those periods of downtime, and I promise I'll have a lot more material to post afterwards!**  
_


	10. Found Out and a God of Action

_Okay, so this chapter's all on the Hoenn group, because of... well, you'll just have to read._

_100% guarantee that there's something here that'll surprise ya, so have fun, and don't forget to review! I haven't been getting as many reviews as usual lately, so I'd like to see you guys really pour 'em in this time, though I of course would appreciate more than a "Awesome!" or "Good job."  
_

* * *

"Hey guys!" Saphire exclaimed, diverting all ten of our eyes to her. "We should totally have a huge battle between all of us!"

"Yeah, I'd love to see what all you guys are made of," Ciel said, stretching his giant wings as far as they could go. Everyone backed up as he did so, so as not to get hit.

"It's been ages since I've had a good fight," Lauren replied, sneaking a smug smile in my direction.

"This should be fun," was Aster's short response, rolling up his sleeves, and Lucario grinned at the prospect of possibly beating up on me, his own trainer. Suddenly, everyone's attention was on me. My tail twitched as I stared out at the rest of my group.

"Could I just sit and rest?" I asked.

"NO!" the others shouted in unison, Lucario included.

Sighing heavily, I walked over to Ciel, and proceeded to Drain Punch him. "Let the chaos unfold," I said, watching Ciel fall backwards, using his wings to right himself.

I ambled over to a tree and leaned against it as Lauren put Saphire to sleep with Sing, at the same moment as Aster prepared a Grass Knot to hit Lauren from behind.

As the Houndour morph's eyelids started to droop, Lauren was picked up and thrown away, and Saphire decided to thank him by using Fire Spin, which ended up putting Aster way back next to Lauren. She grinned evilly as she stood over him, like a Gyarados hovering over a Caterpie, and she decided to simply use Sing, taking him down with Twister while he was snoozing.

Just then, Lucario sprang over to me, and I quickly ducked as his Brick Break smashed into the tree, making a large indent in it behind me. I swiftly Drain Punched him, and followed up with an Aura Sphere. Ciel then came and finished him off with an Aerial Ace, blindsiding him from above.

Saphire then ran over and used Fire Spin on Ciel, then a Faint Attack, and I finished him off with a Aura Sphere. Suddenly, it was down to three.

That is, until Lauren hit Saphire with Extremespeed, while I pinballed her back with Drain Punch.

Finally, it was down to just Lauren and I.

"Aw, so I guess I'm taking you down last, then? Shame..." she taunted.

"Don't get cocky now," was my simple rebuke.

Floating inches above the ground, she charged in like a bullet fresh from the gun using Extremespeed. I dodged using the same technique, and fired an Aura Sphere in return, hitting her right in the face.

That one caused Ciel to say "Ohhhhhhhhh!" and Saphire squealed, yelling "Come on, Silvy!" at the top of her lungs.

"Don't call me Silvy!" Lauren screamed, using Twister. This one was different, though, as it was immensely powerful, thanks to her little fit of rage. Even though I had a type resistance to it, I was thrown like a tin can kicked up the road, and she followed up with Extremespeed, nearly knocking me out right then and there.

Looking victorious, Lauren smirked as I got back on my feet, slightly wobbly.

"This ends now!" she said cheerfully, landing now on the ground.

"You're absolutely right," I replied bluntly. And she was right, because it was the end... for her.

In not even a second, I unleashed a Dragon Pulse so brutal that she was nearly knocked unconscious from the impact in one hit. The others, now spectators to the side, all looked at me, dumbfounded that I pulled a victory off. I simply swaggered over to Lauren and helped her stand back up, brushing off her heavenly-soft wings. She said nothing, just glanced over at everyone else, who were getting up now that they were all rested.

Setting course for Mauville City once again, I silently led the pack, and could hear every conversation with my Lucario ears.

"How did Will DO that?" Saphire asked nobody in particular.

"Damn, I am hungry!" Ciel exclaimed for all to hear.

"You know," Lauren told Aster, "Will's been acting a bit strange since he came back..." That piqued my interest, and I listened in.

"Well, I surely don't remember his Dragon Pulse being that strong, and it was weird how he just appeared back, now that I think about it." I clenched my teeth.

"Adding to that, he knew exactly where Mauville was directionally..." she continued, starting to get on a roll.

"Yeah, that is pretty curious," Aster replied, putting some thought into it before answering.

"And he's been oddly quiet lately too," Lauren added. A bead of sweat formed on my forehead, rolling down until it finally entered a freefall to the grass underfoot. It was really quite humid out today, and it was starting to get to me.

"Well, maybe you should just ask him," Aster suggested to her, but she disagreed.

"Knowing him, he'll just deny anything, right or not... Hey Lucario!"

_Damn._

"Could you check on Will's aura? We're wondering if something's wrong with him, he's been a bit different since he came back from... wherever," Lauren asked politely.

A few endless seconds later, he responded, saying "Well, your hunch is right, because something is definitely up. His aura is much different than usual... but also quite similar in some regards."

I gulped down imaginary saliva.

"Anything more specific?" Aster inquired, cutting in.

"Well, it seems to have some element of Dr-"

"Okay, you got me," I suddenly said, whipping around. I had my hands up, and was walking backwards now.

"What?" Lauren asked, a look of pure confusion on her face.

"Gotta commend you, I didn't think you'd see through it all, but alas, it seems you have anyways. Well done," I said, resigned. They knew my game, but even Lauren couldn't comprehend the reality of this situation.

"Will? You feeling all right?"

"Will's just fine, thank you very much," I retorted.

"Who are you?" Lucario growled, taking the next step in the conversation.

"Oh, you have to know my name, eh? Fine, then. Just call me Dialga," I said, raising my eyebrows in a gesture that told them "Well, you got me."

"Not funny, Will..." Lauren muttered.

"What have you done with Will?" Lucario barked at me.

"Will's perfectly fine, he's fully aware of what's going on at this moment," I replied calmingly, but Lucario obviously wasn't receiving any of those vibes.

"Well, you better start talking, Dialga, or I've got a load of pain for you."

I looked at everyone else, and they were silent, letting this unfold instead of getting involved. Ah, the Bystander Effect...

"Now, first, I would like to give a special bit of thanks to someone who I couldn't have done this without..."

A certain someone tugged at his collar nervously.

"Ah yes, Aster, it's okay. Don't be nervous, you did the right thing, bringing Will to me," I said, my human lips curling into an evil grin. Lauren's jaw dropped as far as it could go, as did everybody else's.

"Why, Aster?" Lucario asked, almost yelling.

"Why else? I cut him a simple deal: if he brought Will to me, then nobody would try and hunt him down ever again. I thought it was a fair trade, at least..." I answered for him, as he hung his head.

"How could you sell out Will like that... literally?" Ciel burst from the back.

"Hey, hey, calm down now, unless you don't want me to explain."

Everyone hushed at that, and all eyes were on me. Good.

"So yes, what Aster told you all was a lie, as he really just knocked him out and brought him to me. After that, I gave Will a little cryptic hint at what I was scheming, but he had no clue what was coming. Anyways, he then... _lent_ me his body, and I came back just like that. I felt that I should explain to you guys about what will go down next, even though- no, I won't say that yet."

Lucario began to say something, but Lauren shushed him, instead asking "So, what's your whole plan, then?"

"Simple. I'm the God of Time, and I want to be Will's guardian. I'll-"

"Why?" Saphire asked meekly.

"Why? Because one, he was one of two Steel-type morphs out there, and Groudon already had the other. Plus, he's a really decent guy, and I think I'd work well with him," I replied, facing her directly.

"Okay, so on with the plan. What is it?" Aster asked.

"Ah, of course. It's really quite simple. I'll just go back in time and make it so I'm Will's guardian, and nobody will know! Because this event will have never happened, none of you will remember a thing unless you hit the 0.1% chance that you do, but nobody would believe you then, most likely."

That one hit them like a Draco Meteor, and my grin widened.

"How could you be so, so..."

"Selfish? Self-absorbed? Mean? I'm simply a god of action. I want something, so I go and get it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I shall do just that!"

Lucario suddenly charged up, a Brick Break charged already, but with one swipe of my hand I knocked him away, face in the dirt.

"Foolish, thinking that that will stop me. Sayonara, everyone!"

In a flash, I disappeared, and returned to my normal body. With one Roar of Time, my plan was set into motion.

It's good to be a god.

* * *

_"The bystander effect refers to cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present." - Wikipedia_

_Yes, another effect. I just love them so much..._

_Anyways, betcha didn't see that coming! Any of that! Oh man, I am so thrilled all of a sudden to see how this develops, and I have a perfect ending for this fic too! Woohoo!_

_Now, I don't actually consider Dialga to be evil in this fic, but you guys can certainly think that way! Hey, I ain't telling you how to live your life!_

_Read and review, I know you all want to! Have to! Need to!  
_


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